** Shares in Italy's Recordati RECI.MI automatically halted from trading, following a rise of more than 9%, after financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore reports British fund CVC Capital Partners CVC.AS is preparing a takeover bid on the pharma company
** A Milan-based trader confirms that share movement is motivated on the report
** CVC, which already holds 46.82% of Recordati through Rossini holding, sent a letter to Recordati's board of directors announcing the transaction, according to the daily
** "We do not comment on rumors," a Recordati spokesperson told Reuters, while another source from the company said the report is "purely speculative rumors”
** CVC was not immediately available to comment
(Reporting by Mirko Miorelli in Gdansk, Andrea Mandala', Giancarlo Navach and Elvira Pollini in Milan)
((Mirko.Miorelli@thomsonreuters.com))