Lovells has advised Singapore sovereign fund GIC Special Investments (GICSI) on its €1bn (£760m) investment in Italy's Sintonia – an investment vehicle owned by the Benetton family.

The deal, which was signed on 11 March, is thought to mark the first Italian market entry by a sovereign fund, a number of which have been stepping up their investment in Europe. It saw GICSI take a 3% stake in Sintonia, with the fund subscribing to a capital increase that will see its overall stake rise to 14.3%.

Lovells fielded a team from offices in London, Rome and Singapore, headed by London project finance head Gavin McQuater (pictured). He was supported by private equity partner Leah Dunlop and corporate finance partner Antonio Di Pasquale in Rome, while partners Lesley Ainsworth (competition), Steven Bryan (corporate) and Karen Hughes (tax) advised from London. Amy Lee, chief executive of Lovells Lee & Lee in Singapore, looked after matters in Asia.

The deal was McQuater's first transaction for GICSI although the firm has advised the sovereign fund on several other matters.

McQuater told Legal Week: "They [GICSI] are a great client to work for and we are really looking forward to working on more projects in the future."

Sintonia turned to Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, Sullivan & Cromwell and Elvinger Hoss & Prussen. The Italian heavyweight's team was led by corporate partner Roberto Cera. New York M&A partner Garth Bray led the team for Sullivan.

The Benetton family, famous for its clothing empire, is worth around €9bn (£6.9bn) with investments ranging from restaurants to airports and infrastructure projects. Earlier this month Lovells advised Benetton's Autogrill on its £545m purchase of BAA's duty-free retail outlets, World Duty Free Europe.

GICSI is the private equity arm of the Government of Singapore's Investment Corporation which manages more than $100bn (£49.3bn) of funds. The organisation has previously used firms including O'Melveny & Myers and Herbert Smith.