Following a wider thesis based on increasing levels of debt available to European consumers, Palamon took a majority position in Sigla, a provider of personal loans to retail customers in Italy.  Established almost twenty years ago by Gruppo Riello, one of Italy’s most prominent industrial conglomerates, Sigla has an established brand in the Italian financial sector, primarily for unsecured loans of an average size of €7,000 and with an average term of four years.  With Palamon’s support, Sigla has significantly upgraded its management team, established one of the most sophisticated proprietary scoring models in the Italian market and launched a new series of products.  The company’s originated loan volumes have increased by six times since Palamon’s investment with significantly enhanced profitability.  In July 2006, Sigla completed a landmark funding agreement with Merrill Lynch giving the company access to over €150 million of receivables financing. In October 2007 DeA Capital joined Palamon as minority shareholder.