Intesa's Bazoli: RCS Capital Hike Could Be Included in Industrial Plan

By Alberto Chimenti and Manuela Mesco

A capital hike for the Italian publisher RCS Mediagroup SpA (RCS.MI) is likely to be included in the upcoming industrial plan, the chairman of Intesa Sanpaolo SpA's (ISP.MI) supervisory board, Giovanni Bazoli, said Friday, MF-Dow Jones reports.

Intesa Sanpaolo controls a 5% stake in the publisher, while the Italian businessman Giuseppe Rotelli holds a majority stake of 13%.

RCS Chief Executive Pietro Scott Jovane previously said the new industrial plan will be presented by mid-December but failed to specify any details about the possible capital increase.

The Italian publisher, which owns one of the most influential dailies in the country, Il Corriere Della Sera, posted a first-half net loss of EUR427 million from EUR19.5 million net loss in the corresponding period last year.

During the presentation of its first-half results, the company said it had started working on a plan to "address new market challenges" coming from the macroeconomic environment.

Write to Manuela Mesco at [e-mail]

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