Il Fonsai title it touched a rise of 12% at the opening, to then be suspended in the volatility auction. They also run Premafin (+ 6,82%) and Milan Insurance (+3,38%). Unipol earns 2,99 per cent. The market, therefore, is more than ever convinced that theincursion of Palladio financial in the company will certainly not end with the purchase of 2,25% of Fonsai, an operation albeit modest (9 million in total) from an economic point of view, capable of evoking great suggestions. For multiple reasons.
financial Palladio, already in talks for possible support for the recovery of the Ligresti group da Gerard Braggiottiwould have returned to the field as leader of a line-up that does not like the marriage to Unipol and is trying to oppose it. Among others, the team could include the Sator by Matteo Arpe which, like di Giorgio Drago di Palladio, former Mediobanca, enjoys the cordial enmity of Albert Nagel (while John Perissinotto he is a close friend of Roberto Meneguzzo, CEO of the Vicenza finance company). But there is also talk of other investors such as Claudio Sposito's Clessidra and Alessandro Benetton's 21 Investimenti.
The team of "spoiljoys" certainly has the firepower to play an important role in Fondiaria, which capitalizes just over 400 million after the recent increase. In fact, Palladio alone declares an availability of 200 million in liquidity as well as a strong presence in real estate and infrastructure investments, activities for which a good insurance lung could be invaluable. Palladium, as well as 24% of Ferak, an investment holding which owns 51% of Effeti (in turn owning 3,96% of Generali) is present among other real estate funds with 14% of Est Capital sgr (assets of 820 million), 16% of Ver Capital of (180 million euros of assets) and 100% of Vei Capital, a holding company dedicated to private equity and infrastructure investments.
Just enough to justify the "irritation" of Mediobanca and Unicredit. And to stimulate memories and fantasies of Piazza Affari, which has already experienced quite a few memorable clashes for the control of Fondiaria, in the past the balance of financial power of the Bel Paese.
THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR FOR THE FLORENTINE LOUNGE
Il troubled fate of Fondiaria it is written in the stars. Control of the Florentine company, even before the wedding with the Turinese Sai, was at the center of the conflicts for supremacy in Italian capitalism. It began in the mid-eighties, when the company was at the origin of the rift between Mario Schimberni and Enrico Cuccia. Then it was the turn of Raul Gardini who, allied with the Gaic by Camillo De Benedetti, he rebelled against primacy of Mediobanca-Generali. After Ferfin's crack, Fondiaria returned to the stables in Piazzetta Cuccia. But the problems weren't over yet: the takeover bid on Montedison launched by EDF and Fiat forced Vincenzo Maranghi hastily find accommodation for the company, already parked in Foro Buonaparte. The choice fell on Salvatore Ligresti, already controlling shareholder of Sai and faithful "satellite" of the galaxy of Piazzetta Cuccia. It was not an easy operation. To prevent Ligresti, already heavily in debt, from having to launch the takeover bid, allies of the caliber of Francesco Micheli and Jp Morgan took the field and lent themselves to make bridging purchases, pending Consob authorisation. It was Luigi Spaventa, then head of the commission, who granted the longed-for exemption from the takeover bid. Vincenzo Maranghi, once Fondiaria had been "saved" from enemy hands, wrote a letter in which he recommended to Ligresti "not to lead the group as if it were a family business but in the interest of the shareholders". He was not listened to: in less than six years, Fonsai's market value fell 10 times to a minimum of 235 million, despite the efforts of Mediobanca and the creditor/shareholder Unicredit.
The eternal challenge repeats itself in these days. On the one hand Mediobanca, on the other the external "attackers". Piazzetta Cuccia pursues two objectives: 1) the protection of its creditor interests; 2) the construction of an Italian insurance pole, not antagonistic to Generali. The coop company, Unipol, is the ideal partner for the project. The co-ops agreed that the Fonsai affair is a unique and unrepeatable opportunity for a qualitative leap in finance, sufficient to make one forget the trauma of the setback in Bnl. After that shock in Bologna they are convinced that, in order to be successful, the offensive must be agreed with the creditors of the insurance business and take their interests into account. Hence the decision to proceed with a takeover bid on Premafin (the indebted box of engineer Ligresti) and then proceed with the Fonsai capital increase exempt from the takeover bid. As, in some way, the president of Consob, Giuseppe Vegas, has already hinted that it is possible.
But the operation runs the risk of going up in smoke or, at least, of being greatly hampered by the entry into the field of Palladio, the Vicentine finance company which could act as a magnet for the antagonists of the supremacy of Piazzetta Cuccia in the Italian financial arena. The presence of Palladio in the Effeti, i.e. the box in which the Generali packages of Ferak (a company controlled by Palladio and his Venetian allies) and the Crt Foundation ("creature" of Fabrizio Palenzona, vice president of Unicredit and Mediobanca) converged, makes it even more harsh and exciting the challenge. It is unlikely that the alliance in Trieste which made it possible for Angelo Miglietta, secretary of the Crt, very close to Palenzona, to enter the board of directors, will be able to withstand the tear. But it is equally difficult for Mediobanca to enforce, as in the past, its absolute rule in the company of the Lion and thus the ostracism towards Palladio.
At the start of the session, the stock touches a rise of 12% and is suspended in a volatility auction. The stock was moved by rumors according to which Palladio, which surprisingly announced that it holds 2,35%, could rise further. Premafin (+6,82%) and Milano Assicurazioni (+3,38%) are also running. Unipol earns 2,99 per cent.
