ROME: UniCredit (CRDI.MI) is holding informal talks with several banks to gauge interest in online broker FinecoBank (FBK.MI), hoping the Milan-listed business will be valued at no less than 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), two sources said on Friday. Italy’s largest bank, which is conducting a wide-ranging review of its global network, owns 55.4 percent of FinecoBank which has a total market value of close to 3.1 billion euros. But this is seen as artificially high by bankers and analysts because the broker benefits from a favorable accounting and regulatory treatment of holdings of UniCredit bonds, which ICBPI analysts say account for 80 percent of its total assets.
A sale of FinecoBank would help UniCredit strengthen its capital and reduce the need for a share issue for new chief executive Jean-Pierre Mustier who is due to unveil a strategic and capital-boosting plan on Dec. 13. Mustier wants to have a clear idea of how much he can raise from asset sales before pressing ahead with a share offer and the bank has invited a small number of Italian and international lenders to come forward with potential offers, the sources said.
