Piaggio Aerospace had received 19 “expressions of interest” (EOIs) for the purchase of its Piaggio Aero Industries and Piaggio Aviation businesses by the May 29 deadline, the company reported yesterday. After discussing a potential sale for more than a year, Piaggio in late February formally issued a call for EOIs with an initial April 3 deadline that was subsequently pushed to late May in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The aerospace manufacturer, which entered extraordinary receivership in late 2018, said the EOIs were accompanied by “the large documentation required.”

“EOIs were submitted from all over the world, in particular from North America, Europe, and the Far East,” said Vincenzo Nicastro, extraordinary receiver for Piaggio. “This confirms the interest in the group and its growth potential, although some possibly interested parties could have been discouraged by the current pandemic.”

Nicastro still must examine the eligibility of the EOIs, most of which were for the whole group, Piaggio added. Eligible applicants will be provided access to the data room to fully examine the value of Piaggio and then have the opportunity to submit binding offers. A buyer would be selected after that time.

Piaggio’s hope is to find an owner for the whole company by the end of the year. The financially struggling manufacturer of the Avanti Evo received a boost from a long-term agreement from the Italian Ministry of Defence for the support of the P.180 air fleet of the Armed Forces. This pushed its order book to €640 million with additional orders that are under negotiation for an extra €260 million, Piaggio added.