Unipol Gruppo up 23% to hit 12-year high over buyout bid on UnipolSai

UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA

16/02/2024 10:34

** Shares in Italy's financial group Unipol Gruppo  UNPI.MI 
rise as much as 23.5%, hitting its highest level since Feb. 2012
on Friday
    ** Co offered to buy out its unit UnipolSai  US.MI , Italy's
second-largest insurer, launching a tender offer for the 14.75%
stake it does not own
    ** Unipol Gruppo will offer 2.70 euros ($2.91) for each
UnipolSai share, incorporating a premium of 12.6% to the Feb. 15
share price at close
    ** It will also offer to exchange three of its own shares
for every 10 shares in UnipolSai
    ** Shares in UnipolSai also jumps as much as 12.2%, reaching
their highest level since May 2022
    ** "The transaction simplifies Unipol Gruppo's positioning
in a context of consolidation in the banking sector," says
Brokerage Equita
    ** Brokerage adds the transaction will have a positive
impact on group's solvency ratio, which came in at 200% at
December end
    ** An analyst at Intesa San Paolo says "Unipol Group will
benefit from the fact that the current holding discount is
mainly based on the current group's structure"
    ** At 0956 GMT, Unipol Gruppo stock is up 19.8%; and
including today's rise it has gained 34.06% YTD  
    
    
  

 (Reporting by Alberto Chiumento, editing by)
 ((Alberto.Chiumento@thomsonreuters.com;))