Merrill Lynch-owned fund Galante has raised its offer for the Italian office fund Berenice from EUR 760 to EUR 770 per unit, representing an overall outlay of EUR 437 mln. The offer surpasses the rival bid made by Goldman Sachs on Wednesday at EUR 762 per unit. The offer is for about 95% of the quotas of the fund, which is managed by Pirelli RE.

Merrill Lynch-owned fund Galante has raised its offer for the Italian office fund Berenice from EUR 760 to EUR 770 per unit, representing an overall outlay of EUR 437 mln. The offer surpasses the rival bid made by Goldman Sachs on Wednesday at EUR 762 per unit. The offer is for about 95% of the quotas of the fund, which is managed by Pirelli RE.

Berenice owns some 50 office buildings across Italy valued at some EUR 800 mln. The fund's units traded at a discount of about 33% to its net asset value during 2006. Last May, Pirelli RE made the first offer for the fund for EUR 540 per unit.