(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Technogym SpA rose in Milan on Friday after a Saudi fund said it bought about 6% of the fitness equipment specialist.

The deal, which gives NIF Holding roughly 4.5% of voting rights in Cesena, Italy-based Technogym, comprises about 8.8 million shares of common stock, according to a statement. NIF is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund Company, an entity linked to the $500 billion futuristic new Saudi city being built on the Red Sea coast extending into the desert.

Technogym gained as much as 11%, the most in more than a year, and traded up 7% at 10:24 a.m. local time.

A range of Italian companies have looked to the kingdom for opportunities in businesses from manufacturing to luxury goods. Riyadh-based Public Investment Fund, or PIF, earlier this year bought 33% of yacht maker Azimut-Benetti Group, while tire maker Pirelli & C SpA in October said it would begin production in the country through a joint venture with the fund.

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Technogym has grown from a garage-based startup to a multinational fitness leader that’s a nine-time supplier to the Olympic Games with a market value of about €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion).

The firm said in June that it’s targeting average revenue growth of around 10% per year through 2025.

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