Carige interested in UniCredit branches in southern Italy; eyes North Africa |
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Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:30
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MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Banca Carige is interested in buying UniCredit branches in southern Italy and in the Lazio region, chairman Giovanni Berneschi said in an interview with the Finanza & Mercati daily.UniCredit has to sell a number of branches in Italy for antitrust reasons following its merger with Capitalia SpA.Berneschi said the bank is also considering the possibility of entering in countries like Morocco, Egypt, or Libya, to offer services to Italian companies.'Our French shareholders CNCEP (Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne et de Prevoyance) are evaluating the situation (in North Africa). We'll follow them,' he said.He also said the bank was interested in buying Unipol's banking unit but no deal was reached and now 'the story is over'.On the company's rights issue, aimed at funding a 996 mln eur acquisition of branches from Intesa Sanpaolo, he said Carige's main shareholders have already decided to subscribe.Carige is controlled by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Genova e Imperia, which has a 43.37 pct stake, CNCEP has 11.02 pct, and Assicurazioni Generali SpA 2.13 pct, according to market regulator Consob.On recent attacks on Generali's governance by UK hedge fund Algebris, he said: 'Generali has a first class management. I do not share this criticism'.Carige has 0.85 pct of Generali, the paper said.danilo.masoni@thomson.comdm/ajbCOPYRIGHTCopyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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Banca Carige sees net profits in 2010 rising to around 350 mln eur 