Italy Antitrust Gives Conditional Approval to Unipol-FonSai Merger

   By Giada Zampano and Giovanni Legorano 
 

ROME--Italy's antitrust authority Wednesday gave its approval for a plan by insurer Unipol Gruppo Finanziario SpA (UNI.MI, UFGSY) to take over troubled peer Fondiaria-SAI SpA (FSA.MI) and its related entities under certain conditions.

The watchdog said the newly merged group would have to unwind its ties with Italian investment bank is Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA (MB.MI, MDIBY) and sell assets to avoid a possible dominant position in the Italian insurance market.

Unipol agreed in January to a deal brokered by Mediobanca to rescue Fondiaria and create Italy's second-largest insurer after Assicurazioni Generali SpA (G.MI).

Under the merger deal, Unipol will take a 61% stake in the new business, Fondiaria-SAI will get 27.45%, Milano Assicurazioni SpA will have 10.7% and Fondiaria SAI's parent, Premafin Finanziaria SpA Holding di Partecipazioni (PF.MI), will have 0.85%.

Premafin owns 4% of Mediobanca.

The Italian watchdog said Unipol would have to sell insurance portfolios and agency networks, with the newly created group asked to reduce its national and regional market share in the various insurance sectors to below 30%.

FonSAI also will have to sell its stakes in Mediobanca and Generali to get antitrust clearance.

Mediobanca, which has lent FonSAI more than EUR1 billion ($1.3 billion) and is backing the Unipol plan, is also Generali's top shareholder.

The antitrust watchdog also asked Unipol and FonSAI to break ties with UniCredit SpA(UCG.MI, UNCFF), which leads a pool of banks that lent Premafin a total of EUR322 million.

Write to Giada Zampano and Giovanni Legorano at [e-mail]