Mark Bezos, David Moross invest in Azimut as it ups HighPost stake

(Reuters) - Mark Bezos, brother of Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and David Moross will become investors in Azimut Holding as the Italian asset manager raises its stake in their private equity firm HighPost Capital, Azimut said on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, the Italian group's U.S. arm Azimut Alternative Capital Partners will buy a further 2.5% of HighPost Capital, raising its overall stake to around 15%.

Founders Moross and Bezos will use "a relevant portion" of the proceeds from the deal to buy shares in Milan-listed Azimut Holding, the group said without disclosing the size of their investment.

Azimut had bought an initial stake of 12.5% in the American consumer-focused private investment firm in 2021, with an option of increasing its holding to 24.9% over time.

"This strategic decision builds upon the already successful history of collaboration between our two firms," Moross, who is chairman and CEO of HighPost, and Bezos said in a statement.

Founded in 2019 and backed by the Bezos family, HighPost currently has two investment platforms focused, respectively, on the late and early stages of business development in sectors from sports and media to consumer tech.

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi, editing by Valentina Za)