(Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. decided to tender its 7% stake in Italian insurance company Societa Cattolica di Assicurazione to Assicurazioni Generali SpA, which is seeking to take over the smaller rival, people familiar with the matter said.
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Buffett agreed to Generali’s offer, the people said asking not to be named because the process is not public. With the tycoon’s stake, Generali is close to exceeding 50% of Cattolica shares, said the people.
The billionaire bought about 9% of Cattolica in 2017 from Banca Popolare di Vicenza SpA through a company controlled by Berkshire, as part of his portfolio’s diversification. Cattolica shares closed down 1.1% to 6.965 euros Friday, above Generali’s bid price of 6.75 euros, giving the insurer a market capitalization of 1.59 billion euros ($1.85 billion).
Generali, with a stake of about 24% in Cattolica, is bidding for the rest in an all-cash transaction as part of a strategy to cement its already-commanding presence in the home market. According to the terms, Generali will pursue the bid if at least 66.67% of Cattolica investors accept the offer, and it has the right to consider whether to go ahead if it gets the acceptance of at least 50% plus one share.
Berkshire didn’t immediately respond to a message sent to Buffett’s assistant. A spokesman for Generali declined to comment.
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