Apollo offers to buy Italian bank Carige

According to a statement, Apollo sent a renewed offer to Carige on 23 March, offering to acquire the bank's non-performing loans and provide a revised capital increase totalling €550m. Following the transaction, the GP will provide €500m of fresh capital, with other shareholders contributing the remaining €50m. According to press reports, Apollo will pay €695m for the loans portfolio, which has a €3.5bn gross value.

Apollo sent a first offer to the troubled Italian bank on 10 February 2016. The offer comprised a €525m capital increase to compensate the sale of bad loans, alongside an additional €100m share sale offered to the bank's shareholders.

The bank's management board is currently evaluating the latest offer, but has not started discussions with Apollo yet. The new management board is due to be elected on Thursday 31 March 2016 - it will then disclose the bank's statement for the fiscal year 2015 and evaluate Apollo's offer.

According to press reports, the European Central Bank asked Carige to take Apollo's offer seriously. But the management board could deny the offer given its impact on the current shareholders - according to the Italian publication MF Milano Finanza, current shareholder Malacalza would see a €160-200m decrease in the value of its stake.

Carige was not available for comment at the time of publication.

Following the announcement, Carige's stock rose by 6.2% to €0.608 on Tuesday 29 March. The bank disclosed a net loss of €102m in 2015.

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• Topics
• Southern Europe
• Italy
• Apollo Management