Elliott’s Italian Bank Discusses Potential M&A With Peers, Funds

(Bloomberg) -- Credito Fondiario SpA, an Italian financial services firm controlled by Elliott Management Corp., is holding preliminary talks with investment firms and peers for a possible combination, people familiar with the matter said.

Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., hired by the Rome-based bank to review strategic options, have contacted competitors including Prelios Credit Servicing and Cerved Group SpA, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

The advisers also have started discussions with private equity firms including Bain Capital Credit and Cerberus Capital Management about potential deals, they said. The discussions are at any early stage and may not lead to a transaction, the people said.

Fondiario is interested in companies with a debt management platform as it’s seeking efficiencies by combining loan and servicing businesses. The bank, which purchases and manages bad debt, has more than 45 billion euros ($51 billion) of assets under management.

Representatives for Credito Fondiario, Deutsche Bank, Bain, Elliott, Cerberus, Prelios and Cerved declined to comment. A Goldman Sachs representative wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Credito Fondario General Manager Iacopo De Francisco said in a January interview with Bloomberg News interview that the bank was reviewing a range of options from an initial public offering to partnerships to mergers.

Elliott became a shareholder in the Rome-based company in 2016 and is now its biggest investor with an 82% stake. Tages Capital LLP, an alternative investment group overseeing about $51 billion of assets, and senior management own the remaining stock.

The U.S. activist investor’s other holdings in Italy include shares in Telecom Italia SpA and soccer club AC Milan.

--With assistance from Jan-Henrik Förster.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sonia Sirletti in Milan at ssirletti@bloomberg.net;Luca Casiraghi in London at lcasiraghi@bloomberg.net;Antonio Vanuzzo in London at avanuzzo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Dan Liefgreen

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