Pirelli on track to be de-listed as mandatory offer ends

MILAN (Reuters) - Tyremaker Pirelli is on track to be de-listed from the Italian bourse, where its shares have been trading since 1922, following the end of a mandatory offer launched by an investment vehicle controlled by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina).

ChemChina agreed in March to become the biggest single shareholder of the world's fifth-largest tyre manufacturer as part of a 7.3 billion euro ($8.3 billion) deal, putting one of Italy's oldest household names in Chinese hands.

Marco Polo Industrial Holding, a vehicle created to facilitate the Chinese takeover, concluded the acquisition of the stake in August, triggering the mandatory offer to buy out the shares in the tyremaker that it did not already own. The tender offer was launched in September and ran until Tuesday.

The Italian bourse said in a statement that Marco Polo had bought 70.6 percent of the Pirelli shares that were targeted by the mandatory tender offer. These shares equal a stake of around 54 percent in Pirelli and add to a shareholding of around 33 percent Marco Polo already held - giving it a total 87 percent, according to Reuters calculations.

That is just below the 90-percent threshold that would have automatically triggered an obligation to buy out the remaining investors and to de-list the tyre group.

But having reached a stake of above 50 percent, the tender offer will automatically be re-opened for another five trading days starting from Oct. 21, increasing the likelihood of Marco Polo reaching the threshold.

Even if it is not reached, Pirelli must convene an extraordinary meeting for shareholders to vote on the incorporation of Pirelli into Marco Polo. Such an incorporation would also lead to its de-listing.

Marco Polo launched the tender offer with a view to de-list Pirelli, saying this would increase operating and decision-making flexibility. As it holds an 87-percent stake, it can comfortably ensure the approval of the incorporation move by the required two-thirds majority.

State-owned ChemChina holds a 65 percent stake in Marco Polo, with the remainder in the hands of Camfin, an Italian holding company whose investors include Pirelli boss Marco Tronchetti Provera, Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, and Russia's Rosneft.

The Pirelli deal gives ChemChina access to technology to make premium tyres that can be sold at higher margins, while giving the Italian tyremaker a boost in the huge Chinese market and strengthening its truck tyre business.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Pravin Char)