The acquisition is the first through the new Ania F2i Fund, which will hold 92.5% of the share capital. The remaining 7.5% will be held by CFI founder, Mr Giacomo Di Patrizi, who will continue as CEO.

“With this operation, the Ania F2i Fund enters a sector that is essential for the support of the national production system and, at the same time, crucial to contribute to the progressive decarbonisation of freight transport in Italy,” says F2i SGR CEO, Mr Renato Ravanelli.

“F2i’s investment philosophy is to create an independent, efficient, national champion that is able to achieve economies of scale, also by aggregating additional operators, and to develop intermodal projects with other assets of the fund, such as freight ports, a sector in which F2i has recently invested.”

Ania chairman, Ms Maria Bianca Farina, says the coronavirus emergency showed how important it was to have independent and efficient freight operators.

“We believe that infrastructure will contribute to the regrowth of our economy and we confirm the commitment of the insurance sector to support the country's system even in these difficult times,” Farina says.

CFI, which has annual revenue of €64m, was founded in 2007 and now operates around 170 trains per week.