Italy's Brembo sells Pirelli shares, Tronchetti's Camfin raises stake
Pirelli shares sold at 5.07 euros each in ABB process
Brembo raised 282.9 mln euros from share placement
Camfin increased Pirelli stake to 25.28%
Recasts after deal completion, Camfin statement
By Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN, Oct 2 (Reuters) -Brembo BRBI.MI has sold its entire 5.6% stake in tyre maker Pirelli PIRC.MI for around 283 million euros ($313 million), a move dampening speculation about a merger between the two Italian groups.
The premium brakemaker said in a statement on Wednesday that it completed the placement of the 55.8 million ordinary shares it owns in Pirelli at the price of 5.07 euros each, through the accelerated book building process (ABB) it launched on Tuesday.
Camfin, the vehicle of Italian businessman Marco Tronchetti Provera and Pirelli's second largest investor, said it had bought an additional 2.5% stake in the group, bringing its shareholding to 25.28%.
Tronchetti Provera, who has led Pirelli since 1992, is now its executive vice chairman.
Camfin added its board authorised it to increase its stake in Pirelli to 29.9% over the next 24 months.
Brembo built its stake in Pirelli from 2020 to reach a 6% level at one point and last year also entered a shareholder agreement with Camfin.
Brembo's purchases had fed speculation about an Italian shareholders' block emerging within Pirelli to balance the influence of its largest shareholder, Chinese state-owned Sinochem Group 600500.SS, especially as the Rome government intervened last year to curb Sinochem's grip on the company.
Sinochem holds a 37% stake in the tyre maker.
GAIN ON INVESTMENT
Pirelli shares traded 3.4% lower at 0730 GMT on Wednesday, while Brembo had gained more than 3%.
Shares of Formula One tyremaker Pirelli have risen almost 75% since Brembo bought its initial stake during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The stakebuilding had also fuelled talk ofa potential mid-term plan for a merger between Brembo and Pirelli to create an Italian heavyweight in the premium automotive parts industry.
Brembo has said in the past it was looking for opportunities for an acquisition of "significant size", even as big as the company itself, but so far has never found a concrete target.
However the company - which is controlled by the Bombassei family with a stake of around 70% - early this year moved its legal headquarters to the Netherlands to strengthen its loyalty share scheme and increase its ability to capitalise on M&A opportunities.
BNP Paribas acted as sole global coordinator for the ABB, which is a form of offering where banks act as bookrunners and in which shares are offered during a short time window.
($1 = 0.9038 euros)
Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Valentina Za, Jan Harvey and Keith Weir
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