Italy's Cattolica lines up banks for cash call consortium

MILAN: Italian insurer Cattolica is in advanced talks with a group of banks to set up an underwriting consortium for a planned 200 million euro ($243 million) capital raising, three sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.

Cattolica, in which top Italian insurer Generali holds a 24.4% stake, has faced criticism from industry regulator IVASS.

IVASS has taken issue with the insurer's governance and risk management practices, urging Cattolica to take action including naming a new board. It has also asked Cattolica to speed up the second tranche of a proposed 500 million euro capital increase.

Mediobanca, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo and Goldman Sachs are set to guarantee the new share issue, the sources said, adding the consortium had not yet been formalised.

Generali last June agreed to invest 300 million euros to subscribe to a reserved capital increase at Cattolica, becoming its main investor ahead of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway , which has a 9% stake.

Generali has the option to subscribe to the upcoming cash call to keep its holding unchanged.

Cattolica said in November it expected to launch the new share issue in January, but two of the sources said it would likely be pushed back as talks with Italy's market regulator Consob to approve the offer's prospectus were ongoing.

Cattolica said on Sunday it had started drafting a plan to address IVASS' requests, paving the way for a full overhaul of its board and a strengthening of its governance system.