MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Italy's quoted DEA Capital SpA said it is acquiring a 43.01 pct stake in Sante Luxembourg, a company which has built up a major stake in French quoted health firm Generale de Sante SA.
DEA Capital is acquiring the stake from Sante Holdings Srl, a company entirely owned by Antonino Ligresti, which currently owns 100 pct of Sante Luxembourg, DEA Capital said.
Earlier this month, Sante Luxembourg unit Sante Developpement Europe (SDE) launched a 32.50 eur per share offer for Generale de Sante after hiking its stake to around 60 pct from 25.
Sante Luxembourg directly owns 24.51 pct of Generale de Sante, while SDE has a further 34.67 pct, DEA Capital said.
Under the agreement, DEA Capital is linking up with Mediobanca SpA and Sante Holdings to participate in a capital increase at SDE, it said, adding that DEA Capital's maximum investment would be 404 mln eur.
Under the agreement, Sante Holdings will own 47.00 pct of Sante Luxembourg, DEA Capital 43.01 and Mediobanca 9.99, it said.
DEA Capital, whose shares were suspended today, plans a capital increase of up to 600 mln eur, it said, adding that the Italian family De Agostini intends to keep 51.49 pct control of the firm.
In a separate statement, Generale de Sante said it accepted the takeover offer from SDE, adding that the offer price is a 'fair' one.
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