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MILAN, June 26 (Reuters) - IMMSI , the holding company of Italian financier Roberto Colaninno, said on Thursday it expected to sign a contract to take over Vespa scooter maker Piaggio group by July 27.
IMMSI said in a statement the deal should close before the start of September and it had completed due diligence together with Morgan Grenfell Private Equity, a Deutsche Bank-controlled fund which owns about 86 percent of Piaggio.
Piaggio's Vespa scooters came to symbolise Italy's "Dolce Vita" lifestyle in the 1950s and 1960s but in recent years the firm has suffered from weak demand in its main Italian market and competition from cheaper models from Eastern Europe.
At the beginning of the year it announced a 100 million euro capital increase, of which Morgan Grenfell committed to underwriting 25 million euros.
Colaninno, who is sitting on a substantial pile of cash after a Pirelli-led group wrested control of Telecom Italia from him in 2001, has previously said the deal would be funded through a capital increase by Piaggio which would likely be reserved for IMMSI.
Colaninno could potentially use Piaggio as a jumping off point to buy into struggling Italian motorcycle group Ducati and MV Augusta, Italian media have reported.