PIF close to investing in unit of Italy’s Leonardo

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reportedly close to finalising an agreement to invest in Italian company Leonardo’s aerostructures business unit.

Talks between Leonardo and the sovereign wealth fund are almost complete, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified sources.

The proposed deal intends to create a global aerostructure business, the report said. An aerostructure is a component of an aircraft’s frame, such as the fuselage.

A planned meeting between Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a Gulf summit in Bahrain, slated for the first week of December, will be central in securing final government approvals, the sources said.

The proposed deal will provide financial support for the Leonardo division, which has been losing money.

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The aerostructures unit supplies major structural components for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, but has reported losses due to a production slowdown in the US.

The Italian government owns 30 percent of Leonardo.

Italy signed agreements worth around $10 billion with Saudi Arabia in January as part of a strengthened strategic partnership.