Deas, the company with a turnover of 44 million owned by Stefania Ranzato, who was involved in the investigation that also shook the CEO of Sogei, is moving towards new ownership.
According to what was revealed yesterday by Fatto Quotidiano, Deas is about to be acquired by Xenon Private Equity, a fund co-managed by Franco Prestigiacomo and Danilo Mangano.
Last year the Roman company came under the spotlight following the investigation by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office for attempted embezzlement which on March 4, 2025 involved the owner of Deas and former sole director Stefania Ranzato along with Cristiano Cannarsa, CEO of Sogei (a company wholly owned by the Treasury). According to the prosecutor’s case, Cannarsa was involved in a proposal for a contract worth over one and a half million euros in favor of Deas, registered in the register of suspects, active in the cybersecurity sector.
Since then Ranzato has stepped back from the company’s leadership, which in recent years has experienced a boom in turnover obtaining various public contracts, including from the Ministry of Defense.
And today she would be ready to cede control of Deas to Xenon.
The operation, whose closing is expected by the end of summer, comes while the fund is engaged in integration with Equita Group.
All the details
RANZATO READY TO SELL DEAS TO XENON
Deas, Difesa e Analisi Sistemi Spa, 100% controlled by Stefania Ranzato, is about to be sold to Xenon Private Equity. According to the operation reported by Fatto, at closing Xenon will hold about two-thirds of the company’s capital, also obtaining the right to appoint the CEO and the director.
THE SOGEI CASE AND THE INVESTIGATION ON RANZATO
As already mentioned, the company has also been at the center of attention due to the legal case involving founder Stefania Ranzato.
In March 2025 it emerged that Ranzato is under investigation by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office for attempted embezzlement together with Sogei CEO Cristiano Cannarsa. As Il Fatto quotidiano recalls today, “the investigation has since remained under the radar and has been separated from the main file. Also based on authoritative legal opinions requested by the buyer, it is believed that it will not have negative effects on the acquired company.”
After the investigation was opened, Ranzato resigned as CEO. Today the position is held by General Enzo Vecciarelli, who also serves as the company’s chairman, while Carlo Festucci, former secretary general of Aiad, is vice president. Ranzato retains the role of general manager.
DEAS’S ACTIVITY IN CYBERSECURITY
As stated on its website, Deas is a technological partner of the Defense sector, Security Forces, Public Administration, and strategic Italian and international industrial groups.
It is a company with entirely Italian capital. The headquarters is located in the heart of the capital, in Piazza Montecitorio, while Deas’s Advanced Cyber Center is located at the Defense base of Sant’Alessandro in Rome. “The facility is the technological and logistical heart of Cyber Security services, as well as a highly specialized hub for all IT operations,” the company led by Stefania Ranzato continues. Furthermore, the center is one of the few in Italy accredited by the Information Security Certification Body (OCSI) and the only one hosted in a military facility.
In October 2024 Sole 24 Ore reported that the Leonardo group had started due diligence on Deas, evaluating possible acquisitions in the cybersecurity sector. However, the operation later fell through.
WHO IS XENON PRIVATE EQUITY
And now entrepreneur Ranzato is ready to sell Deas to Xenon Private Equity, an alternative fund management company headquartered in Luxembourg with an Italian branch in Milan, recalls Fatto quotidiano.
With over thirty years of activity, it has a team of 25 professionals and manages a platform with about one billion euros in assets, recently reported MF highlighting that in 2025 Xenon achieved 20.7 million in fee revenues and a net profit of 4.9 million (excluding carried interest), with a margin exceeding 23%,
Fatto also recalls that in recent months Xenon has entered the orbit of Equita Group, a company listed on Euronext Milan, with which it has signed a binding agreement for the integration of their respective activities.
THE OPERATION WITH EQUITA
On July 28, Equita’s shareholders’ meeting will be called to approve the operation that provides for the contribution of 51.5% of the capital of Xenon Aifm S.A. into the group.
The agreements provide that Equita acquires 100% of Xenon Aifm and Xenon GP, as well as 20% of the class B shares of the Xenon funds currently in the investment phase, holders of the carried interest right, and the right to subscribe 20% of the class B shares of future funds under the same conditions as management.
Between 2027 and 2030, Xenon’s average annual contribution to Equita group’s net profit is estimated at over 7 million euros, considering both management fees and a prudent estimate of carried interest.
The total value of the operation is 70 million euros, of which up to 35 million will be paid in cash and the remaining part through newly issued Equita shares, subject to lock-up restrictions, issued through a reserved capital increase.
THE LUXEMBOURG FUND’S ACTIVISM
Finally, Deas is not the only company to come under Xenon’s radar.
At the end of April, the Luxembourg fund promoted, through an indirectly controlled Italian vehicle, a voluntary total public tender offer on the shares and warrants of Eles Semiconductor Equipment, a company active in solutions for semiconductor device testing. The operation represented the first competing tender offer on the Euronext Growth Milan market compared to the one launched by Mare Engineering Group.
