Della Valle not selling RCS shares

(ANSA) - Fermo, April 20 - Diego Della Valle, the chairman of shoemaker Tod's, said Wednesday that he did not intend to sell his shares in RCS, the publisher of top Italian dailies Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport. Earlier this month media businessman Urbano Cairo announced he was making a bid to take a controlling stake in RCS, via an offer to exchange shares in his Cairo Communications company. "We are buyers, not sellers, of RCS shares," said Della Valle, who has a stake over over 7% in the publisher. Cairo, the owner of the La7 TV station and Torino soccer club, said he wants to make RCS a profitable part of a multi-faceted media group. He has offered to a swap 0.12 of a share in Cairo Communication for each RCS share to take his stake over the 50% mark. Della Valle said he is not tempted. "Cairo is a friend. He was right to have a go, that's his job, so I don't consider it a hostile operation," he said, adding that he was backing the current RCS board. "I gather than the value of the operation is not adequate, but I'm not interested because I don't have to sell my shares".