Italian banking giant Unicredit said on Friday it is dropping a property disposal said to be worth over EUR 1 bn and will instead look at a smaller deal as a result of 'the current adverse market conditions'.
Italian banking giant Unicredit said on Friday it is dropping a property disposal said to be worth over EUR 1 bn and will instead look at a smaller deal as a result of 'the current adverse market conditions'.
'The board of directors of Unicredit, given the current adverse market conditions, has decided not to pursue the disposal of the real estate fund on the terms originally planned. Instead, the board has approved a possible transaction consisting of a smaller disposal of real estate assets through a fund,' the company said on Friday.
Unicredit, which owns a real estate portfolio worth EUR 7 bn, was reportedly in final talks to sell 100 buildings, including its head office in Milan's Piazza Cordusio, to an institutional fund managed by Italian fund manager Fimit. The company was looking to realise gross profits of EUR 600 mln from the sale of the assets. On Friday Unicredit said it expects to achieve a net profit of around EUR 4 bn in 2008, without the property deal. The figure represents a 23% drop to the forecast made in October.
