Premafin offer stalls for Sator and Palladio

Amy King
27 February 2012

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The offer made by private equity funds Palladio Finanziaria and Sator to invest up to €450m in Premafin, parent company of troubled Italian insurer Fondiaria-SAI, has run aground due to penalty clauses in an earlier bid from insurance company Unipol and debt restructuring issues.

The hurdles mean that the four-way merger between Unipol, Premafin, Fondiaria-SAI and its Milano Assicurazioni SpA unit looks set to go ahead, according to reports.

Premafin, owned by the Ligresti family, signed a contract with Unipol in January to save the ailing company through a four-way merger. The contract is binding and any discussions with rival investors would trigger penalties reported to amount to €300m.

Additionally, the offer made by Sator and Palladio is dependent upon debt restructuring. Premafin has debts of around €320m, mainly due to UniCreidt and Mediobanca. The former owns a 6.9% share in Fondiaria and is committed to the Unipol merger, as stated by a spokesperson on Thursday.

The Sator-Palladio offer expires on 8 March.