Banca Carige may sell 52%-59% stake to Apollo if non-binding offer accepted
Banca Carige, the listed Italian lender, would sell a stake of 52%-59% to private equity firm Apollo if it accepts the fund's non-binding offer, Italian language daily Il Messaggero reported. The unsourced report said that Apollo would receive the stake through a EUR 550m capital increase.
The report added that Apollo would then launch a public offer, as required by Italian law.
Apollo is understood to have informed the European Central Bank (ECB) about the bid, according to the report.
The report said that Apollo is also offering to acquire a EUR 3.5bn non-performing loan portfolio for EUR 695m. The report said that it was unclear whether the NPL offer was separate or connected to the bid for a stake in Carige.
The item added that Apollo's offer is a revised bid, with the first offer being made in February. In the first offer Apollo was only offering to buy an NPL portfolio of EUR 3bn, the report added.
Il Messaggero