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BRUSSELS, March 27 (Reuters) - Alitalia, the predecessor of Italian state-owned airline ITA Airways, will have to repay a 400 million-euro ($430 million) loan to the Italian government because the money breached EU state aid rules, EU competition authorities said on Monday. Italy granted the loan in 2019, two years after giving a 900 million-euro loan to keep the loss-making company operating. The European Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog in the 27-country bloc, subsequently ruled that both loans constituted illegal state aid. The Commission had in 2021 it ordered Alitalia to repay the 900-million-euro illegal loan. Successive governments pumped an estimated 10 billion euros into Alitalia to keep it afloat in its last 14 years of life, despite heavy losses and bad management.

☆ A tech boss appointed by Italy's prime minister resigned after quoting a speech from fascist dictator Mussolini in an internal email
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The boss of an Italian state-owned tech firm resigned after quoting Mussolini in an internal email. Anastasio was appointed by right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in November. Anastasio, who was appointed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in November, sent an inauguration email to board members quoting Mussolini, who ruled Italy as a dictator from 1922 to 1943. In the original speech, Mussolini asserted his power over Italy as dictator and admitted to murdering his opponent Giacomo Matteotti, a politician who had criticized the government. Meloni became Italy's first female Prime Minister in October and heads the far-right Brothers of Italy party.

☆ TIM to ask CDP-Macquarie to raise network bid, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The joint offer values TIM's grid at some 18 billion euros ($19.3 billion), including debt, sources have said. KKR, which already owns a minority stake in TIM's grid, offered up to 20 billion euros, including a 2 billion euros earnout mechanism - a valuation which was also billed as too low by TIM last month. The TIM board will meet on Wednesday to draw up a response to the CDP-Macquarie preliminary bid. Vivendi has indicated a price tag of 31 billion euros to back selling the grid. TIM itself has indicated a valuation of 25 billion euros, sources told Reuters last year.

☆ Morning Bid: Hopeful market awaits Powell testimony
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Coming off its best weekly performance since start of the year, the continent-wide STOXX might aim for another record high as traders await January retail sales data for the Eurozone later in the day. Hawkish rhetoric from Fed speakers continued over the weekend, with San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly the latest to sound a warning on the inflationary threat. The market largely expects Powell to be hawkish this week but given his testimony comes before the jobs report is released, he will likely aim to keep all options open. Over in China, the country's leadership set a 5% target for economic growth this year, which analysts called conservative and pragmatic, as they kicked off the annual session of the National People's Congress. In the corporate world, Italian state lender CDP has bid for the fixed-line network of former phone monopoly Telecom Italia, rivalling an offering from U.S. firm KKR.

☆ Telecom Italia boosted by rival offer for landline grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TIM is betting on a sale of its most prized asset to cut its 25 billion euros debt pile and fund an overhaul of the revenue-starved group. Both offers value TIM's grid, which is Italy's main piece of telecoms infrastructure, in the region of 18 billion euros ($19.2 billion), sources familiar with the matter said. "The news is positive for TIM as a second approach increases its bargaining power," broker Equita wrote in a research note. The shares were up around 3.5% at 0.32 euros at 0900 GMT, levels not seen since last April. Regulation issues remain a hurdle for the new bidders, as CDP and Macquarie own TIM'smaller rival Open Fiber.

CDP has teamed up with Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) to bid for Italy's most important telecommunications infrastructure, for which U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N) has already presented an offer. One of the people familiar with the matter said that CDP board members were set to meet at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) to approve the offer. In recent weeks, sources have told Reuters that CDP-Macquarie and KKR have both set an 18-billion-euro ($19 billion) enterprise value for TIM's grid. CDP's offer would also involve TIM's smaller fibre-optic network rival Open Fiber, which is owned by CDP and Macquarie and would be folded into TIM's grid down the road. Under Italian rules, Rome has the power to block unwanted interest for assets of strategic importance such as TIM's grid.

CDP has teamed up with Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) in the offer for Italy's most important telecommunications infrastructure, which would compete with one submitted by U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N). In recent weeks, sources have told Reuters that CDP and Macquarie were ready to value TIM's grid at around 18 billion euros ($19 billion), including some 6 billion euros of debt. An offer from CDP and Macquarie leaves several scenarios open, two government officials said, without elaborating. Besides owning 10% of TIM, CDP controls fibre optic rival Open Fiber. Meloni's predecessors, Mario Draghi and Giuseppe Conte, have both backed plans to combine TIM's and Open Fiber's grids.

☆ CORRECTED Italy's Meloni says on track to rebuild 'excellent' relations with UAE
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I think discussions this morning went very, very well and we're going back to a strategic partnership. Italy historically had very strong relations with UAE which in recent years experienced serious difficulties," Meloni told reporters in Abu Dhabi. Italy in 2021 halted the sale of thousands of missiles to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, citing Rome's commitment to restoring peace in Yemen. "On all these matters Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed has expressed his willingness to help," Meloni said. "I think there is a strong will on both sides to rebuild not just good but excellent relations, a friendship, which I think is very important for our national interest."

The Euronext (ENX.PA) chief executive’s decision to withdraw a preliminary 5.5 billion euro offer for investment platform Allfunds (ALLFG.AS) may turn out to be a lucky escape. An alternative deal will however require the 7.5 billion euro exchange operator to build a more valuable M&A currency first. The funds platform could have helped investors that already buy shares on Euronext to access a broader range of products. Meanwhile, Allfunds’ shares may fall if it continues to struggle. Euronext shares were up over 4% at 72.34 euros, as of 0953 GMT.

Meloni's administration wants to secure public control of TIM's grid, but there is no common ground within the government on how to achieve this. KKR, which has already invested 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion)on TIM's grid, has now bid for a controlling stake in a unit comprising the entire TIM's domestic fixed access network and submarine cable business Sparkle. Ceding control of TIM's grid is a main plank of TIM Chief Executive Pietro Labriola's efforts to cut the former phone monopoly's 25 billion euro net debt and revamp its struggling domestic business. TIM's confirmed its board would meet on Friday to discuss KKR's offer and "take appropriate decisions". CDP's potential offer has been hampered in part by regulatory concerns given it is the main investor in TIM's fibre-optic rival Open Fiber, people familiar with the matter said.

☆ Telecom Italia says KKR has agreed to govt request to extend bid for grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Trading information for KKR & Co is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 23, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid//File PhotoFeb 21 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) said on Tuesday U.S. fund KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) has extended the non-binding offer for its prized landline grid by four weeks to March 24 following a government request. Earlier this month KKR, which already owns a minority stake in TIM's landline grid, submitted a non-binding bid for a controlling stake in a unit comprising TIM's domestic fixed network and submarine cable unit Sparkle. A day later, Italy expressed its intention to implement its goal of putting Telecom Italia's grid in state hands. TIM said its Board of Directors will meet on 24 February to discuss KKR's non-binding offer.

☆ Telecom Italia shares fall in absence of CDP counter-bid for grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) shares dropped as much as 3% in early trade on Monday as a government-sponsored offer rivalling KKR's bid for the former phone monopoly's prized grid failed to materialise over the weekend. Italian state lender CDP has yet to receive key government backing to submit an offer together with Australian fund Macquarie, sources familiar with the matter said, dampening speculation fuelled by media reports last week. Telecom Italia shares fell by 2.8% by 0818 GMT against a flat Italy's blue chips index (.FTMIB)CDP, which is TIM's second largest investor, and Macquarie (MQG.AX) are looking to finalise an offer before Friday when the TIM board is scheduled to discuss a response to an approach from U.S fund KKR (KKR.N) for a controlling stake for the same asset. Reporting by Elvira Pollina Editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italian fund buys stake in asset manager Anima in play on bank M&A
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The 109 million euro ($116 million) stakebuilding strengthens the grip of Italian investors on a company in which France's Amundi (AMUN.PA) - Europe's biggest asset manager - has also taken a stake. Amundi has a strong presence in Italy having spent 3.6 billion euros in 2017 to buy peer Pioneer from UniCredit (CRDI.MI). Formerly backed by the state and focused on promoting national champions, private equity fund Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI) targeted a stake of up to 9%. Amundi acquired its Anima stake a month after Amundi's owner, French bank Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), bought 9.2% of Banco BPM, becoming its single largest investor. Of Anima's 177 billion euros of assets under management, some 100 billion euros are invested in Italian government bonds.

☆ European shares hit nine-month high on upbeat cues from Fed's Powell
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - European shares hit a more-than-nine-month high on Wednesday as investors drew positive cues from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks overnight, while Linde's and Akzo Nobel's upbeat forecasts led material and chemical stocks higher. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was up 0.6% at 0818 GMT, hitting its strongest level since April 2022. German gas giant Linde and Dutch paints maker Akzo Nobel (AKZO.AS) jumped 2.4% and 6.5%, respectively, after giving higher 2023 earnings forecasts. Finnish refiner Neste (NESTE.HE) jumped 11% and was the top performer on the STOXX 600 on the back of a comparable fourth-quarter core operating results beat. Norwegian energy firm Equinor (EQNR.OL) gained 6.1% following a record $74.9 billion adjusted operating profit for 2022.

CDP is seeking to finalise its bid after U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N) last week filed its own offer for the same Telecom Italia (TIM) asset. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters KKR's approach valued the venture at about 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion). Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeatedly said her government wants to secure public control of TIM's network. But there is no common ground yet within her administration on how to reach such a goal and it was no clear whether a CDP bid would receive the blessing of the Treasury. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti believes Rome has "multiple options" to put TIM's network under strategic government control, a separate source said, without elaborating.

☆ Italy facing attacks by international anarchists, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Italian embassies all over the world are at risk of anarchist attacks linked to the case of the hunger-striking Alfredo Cospito, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday. Cospito, 55, is an Italian anarchist who has been on a hunger strike for more than 100 days to protest against being jailed under the strict "41 bis" isolation regime. "We are raising security in all of our embassies and consulates because at the moment international anarchists are mobilised against the Italian state," Tajani told a news conference in Rome. Italian embassies, consulates or culture institutes have been targeted in Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Germany and Switzerland, he said. Cospito was placed under the regime in May, after he wrote articles from prison calling on fellow anarchists to continue their armed struggle.

☆ Italy's post office invests $1.3 bln to refurbish branches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Italy's post office Poste Italiane (PST.MI) plans to invest 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) of mostly public money to renovate 7,000 outlets across the country, aiming to help older people in small towns who are struggling to access public services online. Poste said it would tap a fund financed by the Italian state for 800 million euros and add half that amount of its own money to refurbish thousands of post offices, with a particular focus on towns with less than 5,000 people. Under the terms of the plan, the renovated post offices will provide less digitally savvy customers with machines to access online services within branches, with staff assistance. The revamped post offices would include 4,000 stations for people to obtain documents such as ID cards and passports, or access the land registry. ($1 = 0.9192 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan and Alvise Armellini in Rome; Editing by Gavin Jones and Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sicilian Mafia’s Bloodiest Era Draws to a Close With Arrest of Old-School Boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Margherita Stancati | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ROME—The arrest of Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro marks the end of an era for Cosa Nostra, a once-dominant player in global crime that has largely been forced to retreat to its native island. Captured this week after 30 years on the run, Mr. Messina Denaro was the last leading mobster who represented Cosa Nostra, as the Sicilian mafia is known in Italy, in its heyday and still lived at large. He played a major role in the crime syndicate in the 1980s and 1990s, when it controlled the trans-Atlantic heroin trade and waged a ruthless campaign against anything that stood in the way, from rival factions to the Italian state.

☆ UniCredit CEO says 'we'll see' when asked about Monte dei Paschi -CNBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Monte dei Paschi is 64% owned by the Italian state, which needs to eventually cut its stake to meet re-privatisation commitments given to the European Union at the time of the bailout. "I think Monte dei Paschi has taken a different direction in their strategy. And they've raised their capital, they're rationalising the bank, they're restructuring the bank," Orcel said in an interview with CNBC. So they need to do that, and then we'll see," he said when asked about a Reuters report that UniCredit was still seen as a potential buyer for Monte dei Paschi, alongside Banco BPM (BAMI.MI). Monte dei Paschi raised 2.5 billion euros in capital in December, despite rocky markets, to finance thousands of voluntary staff exits and cut costs.

☆ Lufthansa offers Alitalia heir last chance to fly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Jan 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Lufthansa’s (LHAG.DE) boss Carsten Spohr is trying to catch Alitalia’s successor before it crashes. But Italian media and sources familiar with the situation have said the Germans could inject 300 million euros for a 40% stake. That would value ITA at 750 million euros, much less than the lofty 1.2 billion euro valuation that shipping giant MSC, a former Lufthansa ally, was prepared to pay a year ago. Bidders for Alitalia and its successor have come and gone, contributing to the Italian state burning over 10 billion euros of taxpayers’ money in multiple bailouts. Lufthansa, which considers Italy an attractive tourist market, could revamp the smaller carrier by linking it to its network of global routes.

☆ Factbox: How top Mafia boss Messina Denaro escaped justice for 30 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

ROME, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Matteo Messina Denaro, a brutal Sicilian Mafia boss who was Italy's most wanted criminal before his capture on Monday, had been on the run for 30 years. Messina Denaro, 60, was the last runaway member of a generation of mobsters who masterminded a string of bombings and murders that terrorised Italy in the early 1990s. Nobody knows for sure, but there have long been suspicions that Messina Denaro had his back covered by politicians and other establishment connections. Crime writer Roberto Saviano has pointed out that a former junior justice minister, Antonio D'Ali, has been convicted for collusion with the Messina Denaro family. Messina Denaro was eventually caught outside a clinic in Palermo after police discovered he was sick with cancer.

☆ Factbox: European companies cut jobs as economy sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Stephane MaheJan 17 (Reuters) - Decades-high inflation and the impact of war in Ukraine have forced companies across Europe into lay-offs or hiring freezes. * HUSQVARNA (HUSQb.ST): the garden equipment and tools maker announced in late October it will cut 1,000 jobs, the vast majority of them related to the shift from petrol to battery-powered tools. * SIEMENS GAMESA (SGREN.MC): the Spanish wind turbine maker in late September said it plans to cut 2,900 jobs, mostly in Europe, as part of a plan to return to profitability. * CLAS OHLSON (CLASb.ST): the Swedish hardware store chain said in December it would cut about 85 full-time jobs amongst other measures to deliver cost savings and reduced depreciation. BANKS AND FINANCIALS* KLARNA: Dagens Industri reported in May the Swedish payments company would lay off about 10% of its 7,000 employees.

☆ Sicilian mafia boss arrested after 30 years on the run — the last of Italy's most-wanted crime lords
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Matteo Messina Denaro, the boss of Sicily's Cosa Nostra mafia group, was arrested on Monday. He became a fugitive on Italy's most-wanted list in 1993, tied to a series of murders and bombings. His capture followed the arrests of other crime kingpins who had been on the run for decades. He is the last of Italy's three most-wanted mafia bosses who eluded capture for decades, per Sky News. Mafia "boss of bosses" Salvatore Riina, who spent 23 years as a fugitive, was captured in 1993.

☆ Italy arrests Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

1 fugitive, convicted Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, was arrested on Monday at a private clinic in Palermo, Sicily, after 30 years on the run, Italian paramilitary police said. Messina Denaro was captured at the clinic where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed medical condition, said Carabinieri Gen. Pasquale Angelosanto, who heads the police force's special operations squad. Messina Denaro was taken to a secret location by police immediately after the arrest, Italian state television reported. Messina Denaro, who had a power base in the port city of Trapani, in western Sicily, was considered Sicily's Cosa Nostra top boss even while a fugitive. Messina Denaro, who tried in absentia and convicted of dozens of murders, faces multiple life sentences.

☆ Enel signs state-backed credit line worth 12 bln euros
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Francesca Landini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Enel (ENEI.MI) and a pool of banks signed a 12 billion euro ($12.74 billion) credit facility to fund margin calls linked to the group's derivative trades, Italy's biggest utility said. The financing is 70% guaranteed by the Italian export credit agency SACE and has a term of about 18 months, Enel said on Friday. As anticipated by Reuters, the credit line is part of the Italian government's efforts to shield the country's utilities against volatility on energy markets. Other Italian utilities are expected to apply for the SACE guarantee scheme. Italy's second-biggest utility A2A (A2.MI) told Reuters on Tuesday it would tap the credit facility backed by the credit export agency in January.

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