Rome, May 21, 2007—The Rome office of Shearman & Sterling acted as US and English counsel to Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, as selling shareholder, and Prysmian S.p.A., as issuer, in connection with the initial public offering in Italy and the private placement to institutional investors internationally of Prysmian S.p.A.’s ordinary shares.  The €1.2 billion global offering, representing approximately 46% of Prysmian’s share capital, was more than four times oversubscribed and was the largest IPO in Italy in 2007.  Prysmian’s shares were listed on the Blue Chip Segment of the Borsa Italiana. 

The Prysmian Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and installers of energy and telecommunications cables, with 54 plants in 20 countries and more than 12,000 employees worldwide.  The offering represents a success for Goldman Sachs, which purchased the energy and telecommunications cables businesses that now form the Prysmian Group from Pirelli & C. S.p.A. in 2005.   

The Shearman & Sterling team was led by Rome-based Capital Markets and M&A partner Michael Bosco, assisted by associates Mei Lian, Ethan Perry, Edward Balsamo and David Ingrassia and trainees Francesco Liberatori and Marco Giorgi.  The transaction also involved lawyers from the firm’s International Tax Group, including associate Sara Clevering.