Unipol should pull

10 January 2006 By Chris Hughes

The insurer’s new chairman says he’s sticking by his predecessor’s plans to acquire Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. He should change his mind. Otherwise he will squander a chance to abandon an expensive deal with financial and execution risks aplenty.

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Pierluigi Stefanini, the newly appointed chairman of Unipol, said the Italian insurer would press on with plans to purchase Banca Nationale del Lavoro for around E8.4bn.

The comment was made on January 9 after Unipol's shares closed up 4% amid hopes Stefanini might pull the bid following confirmation of his appointment.

Unipol's offer for BNL was hatched by Giovanni Consorte, who stood down as chairman after becoming the subject of a financial investigation.

We intend to carry on with the project exactly as it has been approved. We are not planning any change, Reuters reported Stefanini to have said.

Stefanini expected the Bank of Italy to rule on the bid by the end of January, and he anticipated a favourable decision.

Massimo D'Alema, leader of Italy's leftwing opposition, told Italian television that the bid was risky.

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