Latest news with #Genoa-based
Irish Examiner
17-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Antiques: Correspondence of Michael Collins for auction
Artworks from the estate of Brian Looney, former editor of the Irish Examiner, are included in the Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill next Saturday (May 24). The auction offers boardroom furniture from the Dulux factory in Cork, established in 1885 by the Harrington family. Lot 228 is a folder with correspondence between Michael Collins, then Minister for Finance, and Genoa-based Donal Hales, Irish consul for Italy from 1919 and brother of assassinated Cork TD Sean Hales. Artworks include Meeting of the Currachs by Ciaran Clear and a signed lithograph by the American artist Frank Stella. A mid-19th-century dining table is estimated at €4,000-€6,000 and a set of 12 Cork 11-bar chairs at €3,500-€4,500. There is jewellery including a platinum and diamond three stone ring, a 1950s penny-farthing bicycle and a church bell made by James Atkins, Cork, c1810 believed to be from St. Mary's Church in Cobh. A parquetry inlaid at Woodwards sale in Cork. The auction by Woodwards in Cork next Saturday offers antique furniture including a Georgian chest on chest, a George II card table, a pair of Edwardian demi-lune tables, an Edwardian parquetry table and a set of Cork chairs. There is a pair of cast iron garden seats by Pierce of Wexford, a model of a three-masted schooner and a selection of porcelain, glassware, rugs and mirrors. Both auctions are on view from today, and the catalogues are online.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sampdoria relegated to Serie C for first time
Sampdoria have been relegated to Serie C for the first time in their 78-year history after a season dogged by managerial upheaval. The Genoa-based club were held to a goalless draw at Juve Stabia in their final Serie B match. That ensured they finished in 18th place, a point behind Salernitana who secured a relegation play-off place with a 2-0 victory over Cittadella. Sampdoria, who won their only Serie A title in 1991 with a star-studded team, had been playing in Italian football's second tier since they were relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season. Italian World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo was hired as coach in June 2023 but was unable to secure an immediate return to the top flight after they lost in the play-offs. Rangers approach Ancelotti but other names in mix Inter win rain-delayed match to close gap on Napoli Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast The month before Sampdoria's play-off exit Pirlo was called "a key part of the project" by the club's owners, but three games into the current campaign he was dismissed following two defeats and a draw. Andrea Sottil replaced him and oversaw a Coppa Italia penalty-shootout victory against Genoa in the first Derby della Lanterna in two years. However, he too was jettisoned in October 2024 after just four wins in 14 games and replaced by Leonardo Semplici. With the club in the drop zone, a 3-0 home defeat by Frosinone at the end of March was the tipping point for the fans as patience with Semplici ran out. The team bus carrying Semplici and his Sampdoria players was pelted by stones and flares by angry supporters after the match at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium. Semplici was relieved of his duties in April with Alberico Evani - the club's fourth coach of the season - tasked with keeping them up. Things began promisingly for Evani with club legend Attilio Lombardo in as assistant and another Sampdoria icon in Roberto Mancini helping in an unofficial capacity. Evani began with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Cittadella, but three draws, a defeat and just one win since then have not been enough to keep them up.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mancini to help former club Sampdoria avoid drop to Italy's third tier
Mancini to help former club Sampdoria avoid drop to Italy's third tier Former Italy coach Roberto Mancini (ANDREAS SOLARO) Former Italy coach Roberto Mancini will participate in the effort to rescue Sampdoria, who are languishing 18th in Italian Serie B, club president Matteo Manfredi said on Tuesday. Mancini spent most of his playing career at the club. On Monday, two of Mancini's close associates, Alberico Evani and Attilio Lombardo, who were part of the coaching staff when Italy won the European Championship in 2021, were appointed as Sampdoria's coach and assistant coach. Advertisement "Roberto is by our side and will certainly help us get back on track. His role isn't formal; friends shouldn't always be present, but his presence will certainly be constant and will be felt," Manfredi told Sky Sport. Relegated to Serie B in 2023, the Genoa-based club have not won a game since February 8. With six matches left, they are three points behind Cittadella in 15th, the first non-relegation place. The club have had four coaches since last August. Sampdoria's all-time top scorer, Mancini, 60, has been a free agent since leaving his post as Saudi Arabia coach last October after just over a year. Advertisement He was part of the Sampdoria team that won the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup (C2) in 1990 and the Italian title in 1991, the only Scudetto in the club's history, and reached the European Cup final the following season. Along with his close friend Gianluca Vialli, who died suddenly in 2023, he formed one of the most prolific scoring duos in Serie A. jr/hpa/ea/pb
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BPER CEO says Italy's M&A wave prompted defensive bid for Pop Sondrio
By Andrea Mandala and Valentina Za MILAN (Reuters) -BPER Banca's CEO on Friday said its 4.3 billion euro ($4.5 billion) all-share takeover bid for smaller peer Banca Popolare di Sondrio was a defensive move prompted by a raft of merger proposals across Italy's banking industry. Mid-sized Italian banks like BPER have long been seen as candidates for consolidation. Previously, BPER had explored a tie-up with Banco BPM but they never reached an accord. Banco BPM has now become a target for larger bank UniCredit. Popolare di Sondrio's board is to meet in the coming days to consider the unsolicited bid proposal, a source close to the bank said. BPER Chairman Fabio Cerchiai said the offer was not hostile, while CEO Gianni Franco Papa said BPER plans to keep Pop Sondrio's brand and cut jobs only through voluntary early retirement. "The current consolidation phase hastened this transaction: it became imperative for us to defend our competitive position also in terms of size," Papa said. Shares in BPER, Italy's fourth largest bank, plunged 7.7%, with analysts saying Pop Sondrio, whose shares rose 5%, was worth more in terms of valuation multiples. "Delivering meaningful earnings per share accretion on this tie up is not an easy task," Jefferies said. "However, there are strategic merits to the deal, with BPER acquiring exposure to attractive regions and increasing market share in an environment of rapid sector consolidation." The combined entity will have a 14% market share in Lombardy, Italy's wealthiest region, double BPER's current share. A tie-up would bring together two banks whose main shareholder is Unipol, Italy's second-largest insurer which has a near 20% equity stake in each lender. Papa said Unipol had been consulted, and would now assess the financials of the deal. UNIPOL Unipol Chief Executive Carlo Cimbri has bet on commercial accords with banks to sell the insurer's products, buying stakes to secure the partnerships, and backing the expansion of BPER's branch footprint. Given the shareholding structure, the bid would give BPER control with as little as 35% of Pop Sondrio plus one share. BPER, based in the town of Modena, famous for its automakers, including Ferrari, cured meat products and balsamic vinegar, jumped in size in 2020 by buying 600 branches in the Intesa Sanpaolo-UBI merger. It then swallowed up Genoa-based rival Carige. BPER is offering 29 new shares for every 20 Pop Sondrio shares tendered, a 7.8% premium based on Thursday's closing prices, Reuters' calculations showed. The latest unsolicited bid in Italian banking follows state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena's (MPS) shock move on bigger rival Mediobanca. The chain reaction was set in motion by Italy selling a stake in bailed-out MPS in November, which brought on board as shareholders Banco BPM and two Italian investors with large stakes in Mediobanca and insurer Generali. The prospect of an eventual tie-up between Banco BPM and MPS prompted UniCredit's swoop on BPM. That left MPS, which has always been seen as in need of a partner and which had been looking at BPM, with no option but to bid for Mediobanca. Unipol's Cimbri had offered to join forces with MPS, but Italy's conservative government spurned an offer that came from a camp traditionally close to left-wing politics in Italy. ($1 = 0.9639 euros)
Reuters
07-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Pop Sondrio says BPER bid not agreed as Italy M&A frenzy prompts Unipol to hasten tie-up
MILAN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - BPER's ( opens new tab bid for Banca Popolare di Sondrio ( opens new tab was not previously agreed, a person close to the Italian bank said on Friday, after it became the latest takeover target in a series of bids rocking the industry. BPER, Italy's fourth-largest bank, unveiled the 4.3 billion euro ($4.5 billion) all-share buyout offer for smaller peer Popolare di Sondrio late on Thursday. A tie-up would bring together two banks whose main shareholder is Unipol , Italy's second-largest insurer which has a near 20% equity stake in each lender. The Pop Sondrio source said its board would meet in the coming days to make an initial assessment of BPER's offer. Unipol Chief Executive Carlo Cimbri has bet on commercial accords with banks to sell the insurer's products, buying stakes to secure the partnerships, and backing the expansion of BPER's branch footprint. He is now moving to defend Unipol's distribution network, given the sector's shake-up, one person with direct knowledge of his thinking said, speaking on condition of anonymity. BPER said that given the shareholding structure, the bid would give it control with as little as 35% of Pop Sondrio plus one share. BPER, based in the town of Modena famous for its automakers, including Ferrari, and its cured meat products as well as balsamic vinegar, jumped in size in 2020 by buying 600 branches in the Intesa Sanpaolo-UBI merger. It then swallowed up troubled Genoa-based rival Carige. BPER is offering 29 new shares for every 20 shares of BPSO shares tendered, a premium of 7.8% based on Thursday's closing prices, according to Reuters calculation. The latest unsolicited bid in Italian banking follows similar moves by UniCredit ( opens new tab on Banco BPM ( opens new tab and state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) ( opens new tab on Mediobanca ( opens new tab. Unsolicited bids are historically rare in global banking, making Italy the exception. The chain reaction was set in motion by Italy selling a stake in bailed-out MPS in November, which brought onboard as shareholders Banco BPM and two Italian investors with large stakes in Mediobanca and insurer Generali ( opens new tab. The prospect of an eventual tie-up between Banco BPM and MPS prompted UniCredit's swoop on BPM. That left MPS, which has always been seen as in need of a partner and had been looking at BPM, with no option but to bid for Mediobanca. Unipol's Cimbri had offered to strike an insurance deal with MPS and take a stake in the Tuscan lender, but Italy's conservative government did not follow up on an offer that came from a camp traditionally close to left-wing political forces. ($1 = 0.9639 euros)
