The bottom Pamplona Capital Management rose from 1,99% to 5,01% in the capital of Unicredit, becoming its second largest shareholder after Aabar (at 6,501%). By mid-morning, the share of Banca Italiana gained about one and a half points in Piazza Affari.
The British private equity operator that manages over 6 billion dollars in assets concluded the transaction through the Pamplona Global Financial Institutions Fund, launched in November 2011 with approximately one billion euros to acquire minority stakes in major financial institutions, focusing in particular on undervalued stocks.
A source close to the situation quoted by Reuters claims that the fund was driven by good management, a strong presence in Europe and the possibility for Unicredit to seize growth opportunities in emerging European countries. The Italian Bank has a capitalization of around 15,56 billion euro: 5% is therefore worth around 780 million euro at current prices. The transaction was financed by Deutsche Bank.
In the Corriere della Sera Massimo Mucchetti launches theclimb alarm: the Italian banking foundations, which today hold 11-12% of the Piazza Cordusio institute “would no longer be able to defend the bank if it were attacked. The only defense is in the hands of the Government and the Bank of Italy if, in unison, they are able to interpret the qualitative requirements of the new shareholders without inferiority complexes towards anyone”.
