Refile: Italy's ICOP says Trevi takeover key to growth plans, but not at any cost
REFILE-Italy's ICOP says Trevi takeover key to growth plans, but not at any cost Fixes typo in first name of ICOP CEO Petrucco in paragraph 3.
MILAN, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Italian engineering group I.CO.P. (ICOP) sees its proposed acquisition of rival Trevi TFI.MI as a key accelerator for growth, but its chief executive said it won't pursue the deal at any cost after Webuild WBD.MI launched a competing bid for the company.
ICOP ICOP.MI launched an all-share offer for Trevi in late June. The bid was challenged at the end of July when construction group Webuild announced a rival all-cash offer for the foundations specialist.
"We strongly believe in our project of creating a leading Italian underground engineering group. A combination with Trevi would be an accelerator for our development plans, but the price cannot be such that it undermines the rationale of the investment," ICOP CEO Piero Petrucco told reporters on Friday.
"Without Trevi, we may get there later, but we will get there anyway," he added.
Italy's state lender CDP is Trevi's largest shareholder with a 21.3% stake, after backing the company as part of a rescue plan.
CDP also owns a 16.5% stake in Webuild, corresponding to more than 20% of voting rights. Webuild, Italy's largest construction company, is controlled by its Chief Executive Pietro Salini, who holds close to 50% of voting rights.
Webuild owns nearly 5% of Trevi, documents published in connection with its bid showed.
Trevi has said that neither of the offers were solicited or agreed with the company.
Petrucco said that if the Trevi deal fails, ICOP will continue pursuing its expansion strategy through entry into new markets, including Australia, as well as through acquisitions of smaller companies that complement its existing activities.
However, "our goal remains to convince Trevi shareholders that our offer provides the stronger industrial rationale and greater long-term value," Petrucco said.
(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, editing by Gavin Jones)
((Claudia.Cristoferi@thomsonreuters.com; +39 06 80307733;))