(Updates with information on Premafin board meeting in last
paragraph.)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The board of Italian insurer Fondiaria-SAI SpA (FSA.MI) said
Monday it will call an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, which
will likely take place at the end of June, to reconfirm a EUR1.1
billion ($1.4 billion) capital increase, among other things.
In a filing to the Italian stock exchange, the company said it
decided to convene a new meeting in light of the intention of two
of its shareholders, Sator Private Equity Fund and Palladio
Finanziaria, to challenge some of the decisions approved by a
previous holders' meeting in March, such as the issuance of new
shares and a capital increase.
Earlier this year, Unipol Gruppo Finanziaria SpA (UNI.MI)
announced its plans to merge with FonSAI, its parent company
Premafin Finanziaria Holding di Partecipazioni SpA (PF.MI) and its
unit Milano Assicurazioni through a complex operation that would
see Unipol take part in a number of capital increases. The
resulting company would become Italy's biggest insurer by premiums
after Assicurazioni Generali SpA (G.MI).
Meanwhile in a separate filing, Milano Assicurazioni SpA (MI.MI)
said Monday it's willing to continue the merger negotiations with
Unipol on the basis that it will have at least a 10.7% stake in the
merged company.
FonSAI is proposing that Unipol get 61% of the new entity,
against a 66.7% sought by the company, FonSAI would own 27.45%,
Milano Assicurazioni would hold a 10.7% stake, while Premafin would
have a 0.85% holding of the company. Premafin, however, is seeking
a stake between 0.98% and 1.66% in the resulting company.
Meanwhile, Premafin's board meeting, which was scheduled to take
place Monday evening to discuss FonSAI's ownership proposal on the
new merged entity, has been postponed until Tuesday, while its
shareholders meeting will be hold June 12, according to Italian
news agency ANSA.
Exchange website: www.borsaitaliana.it
-By Enza Tedesco, Dow Jones Newswires,
enza.tedesco@dowjones.com