Zaleski's chicane

20 November 2008 By Rachel Sanderson

The financier is a skilled bridge player, but it s hard to play against the credit crunch. A group of Italian banks are bailing out Zaleski s investment vehicle, which is sinking under E5.5bn of debt. Zaleski loses control, but some of the banks keep a big shareholder intact.

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Italian banks have finalised a deal to refinance E5.5bn of debts held by the Carlo Tassara group, according to people familiar with the matter. Carlo Tassara, which is both a steel company and an investment vehicle, is controlled by FrancoPolish financier Romain Zaleski and his family foundation.

The debt includes E4.2bn owed to Italian banks including Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, and E1.3bn owed to BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Carlo Tassara holds a 5.9% stake in Intesa Sanpaolo, 2.2% of Mediobanca and 2.4% of Generali.

The banks undertaking the bailout are Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, BMPS, UBI Banca and BPM.

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