MILAN: Premium brakemaker Brembo said on Tuesday it was starting a process to sell its entire stake in tyre maker Pirelli, worth around 300 million euros ($331.8 million), dampening speculation about a merger between the two Italian groups.
Brembo currently owns some 5.6% of Pirelli. It built its stake from 2020 to reach a 6% level at one point and also entered a shareholder agreement last year with Camfin, the vehicle of Italian businessman Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli's second largest investor.
Brembo's purchases had fed speculation about an alternative Italian shareholders' front for Pirelli, especially after the Rome government intervened last year to curb the grip on the company by its largest shareholder, Chinese state-owned conglomerate Sinochem Group.
The sale will be performed through a so-called 'accelerated book building' (ABB) process, which will start "immediately", the Italian company said in a statement.
BNP Paribas has been appointed as sole global coordinator for the placement deal.
An ABB is a form of offering where banks act as bookrunners and in which shares are offered during a short time window, generally lasting between 24 hours to 48 hours.
Marco Tronchetti Provera, who has led Pirelli since 1992, is now the executive vice chairman. — REUTERS