Investment firm Permira has acquired the majority of Gruppo Florence, in a deal which a source close to the matter said valued the hub of Italian luxury clothing and leather goods manufacturers at more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), Reuters reported. The deal announced on Thursday highlights a trend among private-equity funds, which after running out of big brands to buy, have locked on to the challenges of the luxury industry's supply chain and turned to a "buy and build" strategy.
Italy
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Mediobanca on Monday said it has agreed to sell its bad loan acquisition unit for 100 million euros ($110 million), as Italy's leading investment bank focuses on capital-light businesses ahead of unveiling a new three-year strategy, Reuters reported. Banca IFIS agreed to buy Revalea, a unit Mediobanca set up last year by separating purchasing from management of bad debts. Mediobanca will continue to operate the latter through its MBCredit Solutions unit. It was the second deal announced by Mediobanca in days as it prepares to present a new business plan through 2026 on Wednesday.
Italy won’t lose its investment-grade status at Moody’s Investors Service for now after the company chose not to issue a new assessment on one of Europe’s most indebted countries, Bloomberg News reported. In a boost to Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government, a possible announcement scheduled for Friday didn’t materialize, as already happened in September last year. Moody’s currently assesses Italy at Baa1, just one notch above junk, with a negative outlook. A spokesperson said there’s no plan to publish a report on Friday.
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Italy's Treasury is open to reducing its 64% stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) through one or more share sales on the market, three people briefed on the matter told Reuters. Such an option, however, would only be considered if financially advantageous and as long as any significant new investor would manage the holding in line with the national interest.
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Italy's Treasury and Germany's Lufthansa have agreed to extend exclusive talks over the sale of ITA Airways until May 12 from the previous deadline of April 24, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Monday. State-controlled ITA officially replaced the money-losing Alitalia airline in 2021. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Treasury granted Lufthansa's request for extra time for the talks. ITA's chairman said last week the main elements of a deal were defined and the parties hoped to announce it soon.
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Italy on Thursday pledged Tunisia a host of investments and help negotiating an International Monetary Fund bailout as the European nation seeks to stem the number of migrants arriving from North Africa, the Associated Press reported. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani outlined Italy’s efforts and pledges during a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart, Nabil Ammar, who insisted that Tunisia has seen growing numbers of African migrants arriving from the Libyan border and needs economic help.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party has presented a bill in parliament to separate retail and investment banks in a move that, if approved, would force a radical overhaul of the country's banking sector, Reuters reported. The proposal by the Brothers of Italy (FdI) party comes in the wake of the collapse of U.S. tech lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by banking rival UBS, which raised fears of systemic stress that could lead to more bank failures.
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Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government is preparing a new package worth €4.9 billion ($5.3 billion) that extends support to low-income families while weaning others off aid, Bloomberg News reported. The money won’t require extra deficit spending by tapping a €21 billion reserve already set aside in the budget, as well as reaping the benefit of higher-than-expected economic growth, said the people, who declined to be named as discussions over the bill are ongoing.
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Italy is preparing a new package of measures worth at least 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) to help businesses and families cope with costly energy bills and plans to unveil it next week, two government sources told Reuters on Thursday. The right-wing administration led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earmarked over 21 billion euros in its 2023 budget to soften the impact of energy costs on the euro zone's third largest economy in the first quarter of this year.
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Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti is closely watching market developments following the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the ministry said on Monday, adding that the European Union should act quickly to shore up banks if needed, Reuters reported. "We appreciate the timeliness with which the U.S. authorities intervened and trust that, if necessary, European authorities will intervene with the same timeliness, assessing the implications for the conduct of monetary policy and financial stability," the economy ministry said in a statement.
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