Italy

UniCredit’s shares leapt 13.5% today after it declared the beginning of a strategic review of its business after the market close last night. The announcement coincided with the launch of a sale of 10% of one of its finest assets — FinecoBank.

UniCredit has launched this evening a sale of 10% of FinecoBank, its direct, multichannel banking subsidiary, at the same time as opening a strategic review of its business.

The IPO of Enav, the Italian state air traffic control network, has already received enough orders to cover the entire deal, including the 9% greenshoe, a source close to the deal said.

Construction company Salini Impregilo was the second Italian borrower in the high yield market on Monday, as a fortnight of no issuance ended.

Italian gaming operator Sisal on Monday started a roadshow for the all-bond funding of its buyout by CVC Capital Partners, in a high yield market still stunned by the Brexit vote.

Two block trades were successfully placed in Europe this week, including a small stake in Italian multi-utility Hera that was snapped up very quickly on Thursday night.

Bookbuilding for the €805m IPO of Enav, the Italian state air traffic control network, will begin on Monday, July 11, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement late on Thursday evening.

Covered bond secondary market volumes saw a small improvement on Thursday, but with limited supply and continued central bank buying, the market is set to become more technically squeezed over summer.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) has become a symbol of Italy’s banking woes, but a private sector salve will not end the lender’s non-performing loan (NPL) problem. A poor performance in the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) 2016 stress tests will only hammer home the size of the mountain left to climb, writes Tyler Davies.

Pirelli, the Italian tyre manufacturer acquired by ChemChina last year, will complete syndication of its loan refinancing this week, according to a lead banker.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena has been at the centre of discussions about a possible new bank investment fund in Italy, after the lender’s huge bad loan problem came to the fore once again this week.

Melrose Industries, the UK company that aims to buy, improve and sell underperforming industrial businesses, will conduct a heavily dilutive £1.655bn rights issue, cheering equity capital markets bankers who had feared months of weak activity, especially in the UK, after the shock of the Brexit referendum.