ChemChina signs deal to buy 1.6 percent of Pirelli held by Edizione

MILAN (Reuters) - China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) said on Monday it had signed an agreement to buy a 1.574 percent stake in Italian tyre maker Pirelli held by Edizione Srl.

Last month ChemChina agreed to buy into the world's fifth-largest tyre maker in a 7.3 billion-euro (5.2 billion pounds) deal that will put the 143-year-old Italian company in Chinese hands.

ChemChina now has more than 30 percent of Pirelli's ordinary shares under contract, the company said in a statement.

Monday's agreement also contemplates the sale of exchangeable shares representing 3.034 percent of Pirelli's share capital, indirectly held by Edizione through Schematrentaquattro SpA, ChemChina added in the statement.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Stephen Jewkes)