Rome's move will limit the influence of its largest investor, China's Sinochem which has a 37% stake. China is the third-largest market for Bergamo-based Brembo, after the United States and Germany. "If China should somehow retaliate, it wouldn't be just Brembo to suffer, but the whole Italian economy," the source said, referring to the extensive business interests of Italian companies in China. PUTTING THE BRAKES ONAnalysts have speculated about a possible long-term plan to merge Brembo and Pirelli, two of Italy's largest components suppliers in the automotive industry. Pirelli has a market cap of around 4.5 billion euros ($4.9 billion), broadly in line with 4.8 billion euros for Brembo.

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Persons: Brembo, Camfin, Marco Tronchetti Provera, Sinochem, Gold, Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, Tronchetti, They've, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir, Sharon Singleton Organizations: MILAN, Pirelli, Reuters, Gold Phoenix, Bocconi University's School of Management, Thomson Locations: China, Bergamo, United States, Germany, Rome, Netherlands