UniCredit says it will appeal against Italy's conditions on Banco BPM bid
MILAN, May 23 (Reuters) - Italian bank UniCredit (CRDI.MI), opens new tab said on Friday it would fight the conditions imposed by the government to clear its offer for rival Banco BPM (BAMI.MI), opens new tab by filing an appeal to the administrative court of Rome's Lazio region.
UniCredit said in a statement it would file the legal complaint "shortly".
UniCredit also said it would support the European Commission's review of the use Italy has made of its "golden powers" to set demands for UniCredit's bid on the grounds of national security interests.
The bank said it was waiving a provision in its offer that allowed it to walk away after Banco BPM completed the acquisition of fund manager Anima Holding (ANIM.MI), opens new tab at a higher price than anticipated.
BPM had bid for Anima just before UniCredit swooped, and it managed to secure shareholder approval and see the purchase through despite having become a takeover target.
UniCredit retains rights in its bid that would still allow it to drop the offer, saying it was not in a position to decide whether its purchase could be finalised given the government's conditions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Sun
Huge carmaker ‘may sell iconic luxury motor brand' as sales dive and new CEO takes charge
ONE of the world's largest car manufacturers looks set to sell an iconic sports car brand as sales plummet. Discussions over the future of Maserati remain ongoing as industry giant Stellantis prepares to welcome its new CEO in the coming days. 5 5 The French-Italian company could be forced to sell the luxury car brand on the back of poor sales over the past year. New CEO Antonio Filosa - who starts on Monday after being appointed last month - faces huge financial decisions as a result of President Trump's brutal trade tariffs. Stellantis - which owns 14 brands across the globe - was reported to have hired management consulting firm McKinsey and Co to review the situation. McKinsey was called in April this year to advise on struggling brands Maserati and Alfa Romeo, with both experiencing a dire 2024. Last year, the number of Maserati units sold plunged from 26,600 to just 11,300. Stellanis told Motor1: "McKinsey has been asked to provide its considerations regarding the recently announced U.S. tariffs for Alfa Romeo and Maserati." Trump's new legislation means tariffs of at least 25 percent on anything imported into the US. Maserati has no new model launches scheduled as it waits for a new business plan, with the last one having been put on hold by Stellantis in 2024. The plan is expected to be presented soon after Filosa starts his new role. But as things stand, it is understood that all options remain on the table for the world-renowned Italian brand. It came after the global firm pulled the plug on a £1.3billion investment in Maserati earlier this year. Plans for the hotly anticipated electric MC20 Folgore were also binned due to low demand. WHO ARE STELLANTIS? The EV, which translates to 'lightning' in Italian, was intended to be the brand's electric alternative to the stunning MC20 sports car. It promised a power output and performance characteristics similar to the existing V6-engined MC20. The Folgore was set to be one of six Maserati EVs set for launch over the next year or so. But Stellantis chief financial officer Doug Ostermann said they had pulled the plug on Maserati projects, claiming they wanted to review the pace in which sports car owners move over to EVs. He said: "We have to recognise the dynamics in that business, particularly in the Chinese market, and our expectations in terms of how quickly that luxury market would transition to electrification." What is Stellantis? Stellantis is the company behind iconic motor brands such as Fiat, Vauxhall and Peugot. The conglomerate, which is the second-largest maker of cars in Europe, owns 14 badges, including Chrysler, Citroen, Jeep and Maserati. The company itself is the product of a merger between Fiat-Chrysler and France's PSA, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen, in 2021. But the motoring giant has encountered increasingly stuttering financial success. And an initial manufacturing break at Stellantis has now been extended as bosses report a collapse in demand for electric cars. Other projects, including EV replacements for the Levante and Quattroporte models, are in danger of being cancelled too. The vehicles were set to be released in 2027 and 2028 respectively. It is understood the three models would have been Maserati's electric line-up as the firm looked to adapt to the EV revolution. Before he left the firm last year, Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares claimed the low sales at Maserati were due to advertising issues. He told Top Gear: "Maserati is in the red. The reason is marketing. "The Maserati brand is not clearly positioned and the storytelling is not how it should be. "The brand is not just about sports cars, it's about gran turismo, it's about quality of life, dolce vita and technology." 5 5
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Angela Rayner's workers Bill 'is a wrecking ball for the UK economy' that could wipe out struggling businesses, Tories warn
British businesses have been urged to rise up and fight Angela Rayner 's crippling new labour laws, amid dire warnings of the devastating effects they will wreak on the economy. Conservatives have sent an open letter to company bosses this weekend urging them to speak out against the Deputy Prime Minister's radical plans – or be 'sleepwalked into disaster'. Ms Rayner has been accused of taking a 'wrecking ball to the economy' with her Employment Rights Bill – which has also been dubbed 'the Unemployment Bill' over fears it will deter firms from taking on staff. The proposals, currently being debated in the Lords and due to take effect later this year, will make it more burdensome to employ workers and will leave businesses vulnerable to ruinous strikes. Central to the plans are the repeal of Tory trade union laws which will reduce the threshold for strike action and make union funding of the Labour Party automatic. But it also contains a raft of other measures, including the end of zero-hours contracts, strengthened redundancy rights, more flexible working and the power for ministers to take companies to employment tribunals on behalf of employees even if they do not want to sue. The Bill has led to tensions in the Cabinet, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves trying to dilute the measures as she battles to revive a moribund economy. Asked by The Mail on Sunday this weekend if she was working to limit the economic damage which Ms Rayner's measures are expected to cause, the Chancellor did not deny she was trying to mitigate the effects, saying: 'We talk all the time to businesses.' In the open letter, Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith says he has been moved to act because he is 'genuinely concerned that British businesses are being sleepwalked into disaster' and the Tories cannot oppose it alone In the open letter, Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith says he has been moved to act because he is 'genuinely concerned that British businesses are being sleepwalked into disaster' and the Tories cannot oppose it alone. He writes: 'We need more voices to persuade the Government to listen. The Government's own calculations – which many consider to be an underestimate – say this will cost British businesses £5 billion a year and the economy 50,000 jobs... This is not good for the economy. I know it and every business I speak to around the country knows it. 'I urge you to please share this letter with others, seek advice on the impact of the Bill from your professional advisor and encourage business groups to speak up clearly on your behalf.' Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Griffith said: 'The economy badly needs the growth that only business can create. Yet Labour's Bill for Unemployment is a trade union charter that will increase strikes, slash jobs and raise prices. 'Going back to 1970s-style domination by the unions is the very last thing Britain needs right now and shows just how little this socialist government understands business. Angela Rayner is taking a wrecking ball to the UK economy.' He was echoed by a chorus of leading business figures, including Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra beer and UK chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce. He said: 'Making it easier for workers to strike will inevitably increase their number and frequency. This is like the 1970s, and look where that got us. We were called the sick man of Europe. 'We don't want to go back in time. Of course, you want fair employee rights, but there's got to be a balance. If you create the environment this bill is putting us on the path towards, it's going to be very damaging to business and our economy.' He called on the Government to 'think twice' before pushing ahead with the reforms. Luke Johnson, entrepreneur and former chairman of Pizza Express, said: 'At a time when unemployment is rising, the economy is weak and the number of failing businesses is on the increase, introducing a new swathe of burdensome regulations is, to me, little short of madness. 'In the 1970s our country was going broke and we had to go to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. 'It feels as if we are headed back towards that period. I lived through that time. But a lot of the MPs writing and supporting this bill are too young to remember what it was like. '[Angela Rayner] doesn't even speak the same language as people who work in the private sector. She has no clue what it's like to build a business and have your house on the line if you go broke, or struggling to pay wage bills and bank loan repayments each month. 'She just doesn't care. She only ever talks to people in the public sector, civil servants and trade unionists. But eventually, their ideology is going to collide with reality and unfortunately, they are going to drag the economy into a serious recession.' Alex Veitch, of the British Chambers of Commerce said: 'There remains a high risk of unintended consequences that could limit employment opportunities and economic growth.' And Luiza Gomes, from the British Retail Consortium, said: 'Maintaining a 50 per cent threshold for strikes is important to ensure ballot results legitimately and accurately reflect the consensus amongst workers, rather than the minority view.' A Labour spokesman said: 'The public will see right through the sheer hypocrisy of a party that crashed the economy and family finances now opposing better rights for workers. 'Labour do not think it's fair for workers to be sacked without any good reason or denied sick pay from the first day they are ill. The Tories and Reform need to explain why they do. 'These measures are developed with business, and good for workers and the economy.'
Times
44 minutes ago
- Times
Boris Johnson's failed £1bn EV charger fund killed off by Labour
Boris Johnson's near-£1 billion fund to roll out charge points on motorways has been killed off after failing to attract applications from service station operators. The £950 million Rapid Charging Fund was unveiled by the former prime minister in 2021 to support the plan to install more than 6,000 super-fast charge points across England's motorways by 2035. The scheme was designed to provide a springboard for the UK to 'lead the western world in the provision of rapid and ultra-rapid public chargers'. Government sources confirmed this weekend that the fund had finally been scrapped in favour of a £400 million initiative designed to avoid the pitfalls of Johnson's scheme, which was shunned by motorway services operators. It comes as: ⬤ the government confirmed that company car tax breaks for electric vehicles (EVs) will be extended until 2030;⬤ polling by Ipsos Mori showed that worries about a lack of charging infrastructure are the main barrier to drivers switching from petrol or diesel cars to an EV; and ⬤ experts say UK EV public charging costs are the highest in Europe, with drivers paying up to £670 a year more compared with petrol or diesel. Johnson's Rapid Charging Fund formed part of his ten-point plan for a green revolution. Funding was designed to provide 'support on rapid charge points on motorways and major roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys'. The initiative is understood to have failed to garner interest from motorway service operators such as Moto, Welcome Break and Roadchef as pilot schemes proved commercially unattractive. Among the complaints about the scheme were being bogged down in bureaucracy and being asked to commit to long-term power agreements that could lock in high costs years down the line. This weekend's confirmation of the decision to scrap Johnson's fund follows reports this year that ministers were looking into a revamp. The £400 million scheme for the deployment of charging infrastructure, announced during the Comprehensive Spending Review this month, is part of a broader package to support the uptake of zero-emission vehicles. Ministers this weekend confirmed that company car tax breaks for EVs would remain in force until the end of the decade, although discounted tax rates would rise to 9 per cent by 2030 from 3 per cent currently. The Department for Transport said: 'We're investing over £4 billion to support both industry and consumers in making the switch to electric vehicles, including by continuing to offer lower tax rates for EVs than those for traditional combustion engines.' A perceived lack of charging points remains a major barrier to switch to an EV, however. New polling by Ipsos Mori found that while 53 per cent of car owners said that they plan to replace their car by 2028, only a quarter expect that this replacement will be an EV. Concern about range is 'significant', the polling found. 'But underneath this concern our data suggests a level of nervousness and sense of a lack of information about EV charging, especially in public locations. It may be more accurate to talk about 'charge anxiety' rather than 'range anxiety',' Ipsos Mori said, in a report prepared for the Motability Scheme. For those with disabilities, the concern is more stark, with 69 per cent of respondents from within the Motability Scheme saying that they were worried about the distance an EV could travel on a single charge. Sales of battery electric vehicles grew 25.8 per cent in May and represent more than one in five (21.8 per cent of all new car sales), according to industry figures. Separate analysis concludes that the UK has become a global leader outside China in the uptake of EVs. But it warns that the cost of running zero-emission vehicles could outstrip that of a petrol or diesel powered alternative. UK EV public charging costs are the highest in Europe, according to a report by BNEF, a researcher owned by Bloomberg. This means that drivers will pay between £300 to £670 more a year depending on charger speed compared with petrol, the report's authors found. Drivers with off-street parking or those able to charge at home fare better, however. Despite UK residential electricity being among the most expensive in Europe, EV drivers would save an average of about £290 a year if vehicles were charged at home, the report found. Analysis by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit in 2023, cited by the government this year, found that new petrol cars could cost approximately £700 a year more to run than electric models.
