MILAN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Shares in Italian spirits group Campari rose on Wednesday, bucking a lower Milan market, after Reuters reported that its main shareholder Lagfin is in advanced talks with the
Campari Shares Rise on News of 400 Million Euro Tax Settlement
MILAN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Shares in Italian spirits group Campari rose on Wednesday, bucking a lower Milan market, after Reuters reported that its main shareholder Lagfin is in advanced talks with the Italian Revenue Agency to settle a tax dispute.
Lagfin is set to pay around 400 million euros ($466 million), roughly a third of the sum initially sought by authorities, sources told Reuters late on Tuesday. Italian authorities in October had seized 1.29 billion euros worth of Campari shares in relation to a probe on alleged tax evasion.
Analysts welcomed the prospect of a settlement, saying the development removed risks weighing on the stock, including the possibility that Lagfin may have been forced to sell Campari shares to fund the tax bill.
Luxembourg-based Lagfin, controlled by Italy's Garavoglia family, will pay the settlement in instalments, the sources said. The first tranche of 150 million euros, due by year-end, will be covered with funds already set aside, one of the sources told Reuters.
"I think this should go a long way into removing the perceived overhang risk: the amount is relatively small and can be paid in successive instalments, so the chances of a forced sale of Campari shares are now quite low in my view," Mediobanca Securities analysts wrote in a note.
Campari shares were up 1.4% by 0945 GMT, while Italy's FTSE Mib is down 0.4%.
Banca Akros analysts said a tax settlement of 400 million euros would be "positive news for Campari, as it would remove an element of uncertainty that still weighs on the equity story.”
($1 = 0.8592 euros)
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; Editing by Valentina Za)
