L'Espresso publishing group,
owners of Italy's second-biggest daily La Repubblica, lost 2.2%
at the close on the Milan bourse on news of a merger with the
Itedi publishing group, owner of the country's third-biggest
daily, La Stampa.
Fiat Chrysler Automobile's (FCA) Rizzoli-Corriere della
Sera Media Group (RCS) - owner of Italy's biggest daily Corriere
della Sera and which FCA is divesting - fared even worse,
plunging 7.8%.
Analysts said the share performance was due to fears that
FCA partners with shares in the publishing group will sell them
on the market.
FCA closed 2% up while the Agnelli holding company Exor was
steady.
L'Espresso share prices seesawed throughout the trading day
following news of its merger with FCA's publishing company
Itedi.
By lunchtime shares in the group that publishes numerous
local papers as well as leading Rome daily La Repubblica and its
sister weekly L'Espresso were trading 3% down after earlier
being more than 8% up.
Itedi, which publishes Turin daily La Stampa and Genoa
newspaper Il Secolo XIX, is not quoted separately on the stock
exchange.
Meanwhile competitor RCS lost 7% after being down 8.2%
earlier.
La Repubblica and La Stampa, respectively Italy's second and
third biggest dailies, said Thursday they will form "a new
information hub together".
Corriere is Italy's biggest daily and usually described as
the newspaper of record.
Also on Thursday, UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA CEO Carlo
Cimbri denied the Italian financial services company intends to
sell its 4.5% stake in RCS.
"I never said we want to sell," he said. "There's a new
scenario and we need to assess it. Stability must be the
priority of shareholders with common sense... we must protect
our investment from instability".
He also denied UnipolSai intends to increase its RCS stake.
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