By Giovanni Legorano
MILAN--Fininvest, the holding company controlled by the family
of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, sold a 5.61%
stake in insurer Mediolanum SpA (MED.MI), the bookrunner of the
transaction UniCredit Spa (UCG.MI) said Wednesday.
The bank--which acted in cooperation with Kepler Cheuvreux--said
Fininvest made a net profit of around EUR253 million ($348 million)
on the sale. It sold 41,300,000 ordinary shares of Mediolanum at
EUR6.12 per share.
The offer was carried out through an accelerated bookbuilding
process addressed to Italian and international institutional
investors, UniCredit said. The transaction will be settled on Dec.
16.
At 1102 GMT, Mediolanum shares were down 4.8% at EUR6.11, while
Mediaset SpA (MS.MI) shares were up 1.9% at EUR3.19. Fininvest
controls Mediaset, Italy's largest private broadcaster, via a 41%
stake. Before the sale, it owned 35.72% of Mediolanum.
Fininvest said it will use the liquidity obtained from this sale
to reinforce its capital and financial position, after Italy's
supreme court this summer ordered it to pay EUR494 million to
holding company Cir in a long-standing legal case.
Write to Giovanni Legorano at giovanni.legorano@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires