The board of Premafin Finanziaria Holding di Partecipazioni SpA
(PF.MI), the holding company of Fondiaria-SAi SpA (FSA.MI), or
FonSAI, said early Monday it has decided to accept the latest
proposal to merge with Unipol Gruppo Finanziario SpA (UNI.MI),
FonSAI, and Milano Assicurazioni SpA.
Under the deal, Unipol will take a 61% stake in the company that
will result from a complex operation, FonSAI will get a 27.45% of
it, Milano Assicurazioni will hold a 10.7% stake, while Premafin
will have a 0.85% holding in the company.
However, Premafin's board also requested that Unipol confirms,
before Premafin's shareholders meeting on Tuesday, whether the
recent statements made by two members of the Ligresti family, which
control Premafin, will indeed render its merger offer void.
On Friday, Jonella and Paolo Ligresti said they will not
renounce their rights to be exempted from potential legal action
that triggers a series of buyouts of subsidiaries, a condition
widely held--not least by Italian regulators--as essential for the
deal with Unipol to proceed.
Premafin said its board has also decided to analyze the terms
and conditions of a new offer put forward by investment funds Sator
Capital Ltd and Palladio Finanziaria.
On Friday the two funds said they had submitted a proposal to
FonSAI's board which would ultimately raise EUR800 million in fresh
equity--50% more than the company's current market capitalization
for the insurer, raising its regulatory solvency ratio and helping
other investors and creditors recover value.
Exchange Web Site: www.borsaitaliana.it
-Write to Enza Tedesco at enza.tedesco@dowjones.com