Mediobanca Isn't Drafting Any Asset Sale Plan - Shareholder

CERNOBBIO, Italy--Italian merchant bank Mediobanca SpA (MB.MI) isn't drafting a plan to sell assets, its biggest single shareholder said Friday in response to recent local news reports about a possible reorganization of the bank.

"There's no divestment project being studied," said Federico Ghizzoni, chief executive of UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI), one of Italy's biggest banks that owns 8.71% of Mediobanca, according to MF-Dow Jones.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event held near this lakeside town north of Milan.

"It doesn't seem to me that there are any projects," he added. "These are mere comments in the press."

Mediobanca has a number of investments in other companies, allowing it to remain at the center of Italy's corporate scene. It owns 13.24% of insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA (G.MI) and 14.2% of publisher RCS Mediagroup SpA (RCS.MI).

Recent reports have spoken about the possible separation of Mediobanca's merchant bank activities from the management of its holdings.

Write to Gilles Castonguay at [e-mail]; Twitter: @GRCastonguay

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