— Breaking News

To spend 300 mln eur (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - The Italian power generator Enel said that its Greek renewables subsidiary Enel Green Power Hellas (EGPH) has started construction of the Kafireas wind power complex located on the southern part of Greece's Evia island, in the municipality of Karistos. Once completed, the new facility will have a total installed capacity of 154 megawatt and will be the country's largest wind farm, Enel will be investing approximately 300 million euros in the construction of Kafireas, which is expected to enter into operation in the first quarter of 2019 and will be supported by a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Greek electricity market operator LAGIE. Kafireas, which will feature a 150 KV high voltage interconnection line to the mainland comprising overhead, submarine and underground cables, will be able to generate approximately 483 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual energy consumption needs of around 129,000 Greek households. EGPH already operates two wind farms in the municipality of Karistos, the 7.5 MW Iliolousti I and the 9 MW Iliolousti II. The company has 308 MW of installed wind, hydro and solar power. A24-Web (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 21:39:47 (0819) 5 NNNN

Unipol seen pulling out of joint venture (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - The Italian bank Banco BPM said that it expects Unipol to terminate to their insurance joint venture, prompting it to find a new partner by the end of the year. "There is a 30 June deadline and Unipol has been clear. It's up to them" because their have the right to sell their stake in the joint venture, said Banco BPM chief executive Giuseppe Castagna. He added that the bank could have a new insurance partner by the end of the year. Castagna noted that the group already has a business relationship with the French group Covea but "many others are interested." A24-Web (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 21:26:24 (0785) 5 NNNN

Put and call options on remaining 40% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - Italian packaging machinery group Ima said it has reached an agreement with the Redaelli family to purchase 60% of Italian food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical packaging machinery group Eurosicma for 26 million euros. Deal closing is expected by September 30. The remaining 40% Eurosicma stake will be subject to put and call option contracts to be exercised by April 2027. "The transaction announced is strategic and will allow to reinforce our group's leadership in the sector of flowpack and fold automatic machinery, expanding the current product range and creating significant productive and commercial opportunities with other group companies," said Ima chairman and chief executive Alberto Vacchi. "With this deal, Ima continues the strategy of bolstering the value of market leading brands, further reinforcing its industrial presence in Italy." A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 21:18:56 (0784) 5 NNNN

Yield falls to -0.372% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - Italy's treasury sold 6.75 billion euros in six-month bonds at a record low yield of -0.372%, the Bank of Italy said. The bid-to-cover ratio on the offer was 1.54. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 21:03:51 (0783) 5 NNNN

Solar PV production up 10% yr/yr, wind down 25.9% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan , 28 Jun - National power production amounted to 22.1 TWh in May, up 0.7% on the year earlier, Terna said. Domestic production satisfied 87.2% of demand while the remaining 12.8% was covered by power imports. Thermal power production was up 6.2% year on year in May, while solar photovoltaic output increased 10%. On the other hand, geothermal power production fell 2%, hydropower output was down 10.8% and wind power production fell 25.9%. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 19:35:20 (0652) 5 NNNN

Jan-May power demand up adj 0.8% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - Italian power consumption in the month of May totalled 25.1 TWh, up 1.1% on the year earlier, according to data from grid operator Terna. On a seasonally adjusted basis, power demand was up 0.6% on the previous month. Power demand in the first five months was up 0.1% on the same period of 2016 and 0.8% higher on a workday adjusted basis. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 19:32:31 (0649) 5 NNNN

Mediaset rallies in Milan, Philips drops (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - London, 28 Jun - Shares in Italian media group Mediaset gained 2.57% to 3.516 euros after shareholders approved a share buyback for up to 10% of capital in a move to strengthen Berlusconi family's control of the group against Vivendi, which has become the second largest shareholder in the Italian private broadcaster with a 28.8% stake. Mediaset also announced having filed on June 8 a new lawsuit against Vivendi, which did not participate in the shareholder meeting. Mediaset's chairman Fedele Confalonieri said Mediaset had sued Vivendi for breach of contract, unfair competition and breaking of the TV pluralism laws. Dutch electronics group Philips fell 1.75% to 31.97 euros in Amsterdam after it said that it has reached a definitive agreement to buy US group The Spectranetics Corporation for an enterprise value of 1.9 billion euros. Philips is offering 38.50 dollars per Spectranetics share, to be paid in cash upon completion. This represents a 27% premium to Spectranetics closing price on June 27. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, Philips said. Also in Amsterdam stock market dealings, Dutch lender ABN Amro sank 1.29% to 22.94 euros after the fund Stichting administratiekantoor beheer financiele Instellingen (NLFI), on behalf of the Dutch state, said it has agreed to sell 65 million depository receipts representing ordinary shares in lender ABN Amro at 22.75 euros each allowing the state to cut its stake in the bank to 63% from 70%. ABN Amro will not receive any of the transaction proceeds. NLFI has already announced that it intends to divest its remaining stake in ABN Amro Group over time. In the region's stock market dealings, financials were mixed, while oil shares were mostly lower. German airliner Lufthansa rallied 3.57% to 20.03 euros in Frankfurt following reports that it is close to ending a dispute with Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt airport over Ryanair concessions. A24-Cia (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 18:30:07 (0578) 5 NNNN

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - London, 28 Jun - Euro zone benchmark 10-year sovereign bond yields Germany - yield 0.37%; up 0.05 percentage points from previous close. France - yield 0.71%; up 0.02 percentage points from previous close. Belgium - yield 0.70%; up 0.02 percentage points from previous close. Italy - yield 2.02%; up 0.02 percentage points from previous close. Spain - yield 1.41%; down 0.05 percentage points from previous close. A24-Zap (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 18:13:04 (0570) 5 NNNN

Group wants Vivendi to reduce its stake (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Cologno Monzese, 28 Jun - Mediaset had already sued Vivendi in August for violating an agreement to buy its pay-TV business. In the new lawsuit, Mediaset claims Vivendi bought shares in violation of antitrust regulation and therefore the purchases should be declared void. It also wants Vivendi to sell its shares without impacting the performance of the stock. The Italian communications authority Agcom in April ordered Vivendi to sell its stake in either Mediaset and Telecom Italia on antitrust concerns. Vivendi has committed to freezing its voting rights in Mediaset at 9.99%. A24-Cia (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 16:55:55 (0491) 5 NNNN

Moves to fend off takeover plan by French rival (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Cologno Monzese, 28 Jun - Shareholders of Mediaset approved a share buyback for up to 10% of capital in a move to strengthen Berlusconi family's control of the group against Vivendi, which has become the second largest shareholder in the Italian private broadcaster with a 28.8% stake. Mediaset also announced having filed on June 8 a new lawsuit against Vivendi, which did not participate in the shareholder meeting. Mediaset's chairman Fedele Confalonieri said Mediaset had sued Vivendi for breach of contract, unfair competition and breaking of the TV pluralism laws. A24-Cia (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 16:52:10 (0489) 5 NNNN

No financial details (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - The Italian school equipment group Gut-Smemoranda said that it has bought the Italian bag producer MH Way. The acquisition is part of Gut-Smemoranda's policy of building up a portfolio of Italian brands with an international potential. No financial details were available. In 2016, Gut-Smemoranda had sales of 48 million euros and a EBITDA margin of 7%. The group aims to lift sales to 80 million euros in 2019 and have an EBITDA margin of over 10%. A24-Web (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 15:01:04 (0419) 5 NNNN

Overall market is falling (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan , 28 Jun - Italian broadcaster Mediaset saw a slight increase in advertising revenue in the first half of 2017, chief executive Pier Silvio Berlusconi said. "The market is extremely difficult to understand," Berlusconi said on the sidelines of Mediaset's annual general meeting. "We think we'll close the first half with a plus sign in front but seeing that the overall market is falling, we think it will be a relatively small plus sign." A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 13:37:27 (0347) 5 NNNN

Owns 28.8% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - French media conglomerate Vivendi was a no show at the annual general meeting today of Italian broadcaster Mediaset, in which it owns a 28.8% stake. Shareholders owning 51.7% of Mediaset's capital were present at the AGM today, led by the Berlusconi family holding company Fininvest, which is the main shareholder with roughly a 39% stake. Vivendi plans to cap its voting rights in Mediaset at 10% to comply with a ruling from telecoms regulator Agcom over its stakes in the broadcaster and Telecom Italia and as it prepares to appeal the ruling, sources said earlier this month. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 13:12:21 (0332) 5 NNNN

Q1 services producer prices down 0.6% qtr/qtr (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - In terms of industrial producer prices, the economic sectors that showed the highest year-on-year increases were the manufacturing of coke and refined petroleum products, up 7.7% and 25.7%, respectively. Italy's services producer price index in the first quarter of 2016 fell 0.6% compared to the previous quarter and was down 0.3% on the first quarter of 2016, Istat added. In services, producer prices for mobile telecommunications were down 8.4% on the year while those for maritime transport declined 4.5%. The highest increase was seen for the air cargo transport, up 5.8%. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 12:53:55 (0309) 5 NNNN

Domestic PPI down 0.4% mth/mth, up 3.1% yr/yr (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - Industrial producer prices in Italy fell 0.3% in May compared to April and were up 2.8% on the year earlier, according to data from statistics agency Istat. Industrial producer prices for the domestic market in May were down 0.4% month on month and up 3.1% on the year. Excluding energy prices, they were unchanged month on month and up an annual 1.9%. On foreign markets, industrial producer prices were down 0.1% compared to April, reflecting unchanged prices in the eurozone and a 0.1% decline in non-eurozone markets. Year on year, industrial producer prices were up 1.7%, with a 2.3% rise in the eurozone and 1.5% on other foreign markets. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 12:40:42 (0302) 5 NNNN

CPI rose 1.4% yr/yr in May (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - Consumer prices in Italy fell 0.1% in June compared to May and were up 1.2% on the year earlier after rising at a 1.4% annual pace in May, according to preliminary data from statistics bureau Istat. Istat traced the slowdown in inflation to products with high price volatility and, in particular, to unprocessed food and non-regulated energy products. Unprocessed food prices rose 1.3% year on year in June after increasing 3.8% in May while non-regulated energy prices increased 3.0% after rising 6.8% in May. On the other hand, transport services prices rose 4.1% year on year after rising 3.2% in May. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 11:50:53 (0266) 5 NNNN

EU harmonized CPI down 0.2% mth/mth, up 1.2% yr/yr (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan , 28 Jun - Excluding energy and fresh food, Italy's inflation rate rose to 0.9% in June from 0.7% in May, Istat said. Net of energy products alone, inflation slowed to 0.9% from 1.0% in May. Consumer prices harmonized for European Union purposes fell 0.2% in June compared to May and were up 1.2% year on year after rising 1.6% in May, the preliminary data also showed. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 11:43:02 (0256) 5 NNNN

Employment seen up 0.9% in 2017, up 0.8% in 2018 (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - Growth in Italian employment is seen slowing to 0.9% in 2017 and 0.8% in 2018 from 1.4% last year, CsC said. The research institute note that risks to Italian forecasts for 2017 are tilted to the upside while downside risks dominate in 2018, especially should political uncertainty tied to the end of the legislature and new parliamentary elections increase significantly. On the international front, risks are seen as being tied to a new fall in oil prices, a worsening of geopolitical tensions, the failure of the administration of US president Donald Trump to deliver on tax cut and infrastructure investment plans and protectionist measures that could slow global trade. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 11:16:20 (0243) 5 NNNN

Italy 2017 GDP now seen up 1.2% vs 0.9% previously - S&P (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - London, 28 Jun - The eurozone's gross domestic product this year is now seen growing 2.0% from a previous projection of up 1.6% but it is then seen slowing to up 1.8% in 2018, also upwardly revised from a previous forecast of up 1.5%, according to a report by Standard & Poor's Global ratings. For Italy, S&P now expects GDP To increase 1.2% this year from a previous forecast of 0.9% growth. According to the ratings agency, the European Central Bank will extend its quantitative easing program into 2018 albeit at a slower pace. A24-Sch (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 11:08:46 (0236) 5 NNNN

2017 govt deficit seen at 2.3%/GDP, 2.4% in 2018 (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - Milan, 28 Jun - Italy's gross domestic product is now expected to rise 1.3% in 2017 and 1.1% in 2018, according to updated forecasts from CsC, the research institute of the employers federation Confindustria. The forecasts have been revised upwards from CsC's previous estimates last December, when the research institute had forecast 0.8% and 1.0% growth in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The upward revision was largely attributed to a more robust than expected performance of the Italian economy in the last quarter of 2016 and first quarter of 2017. CsC also forecast Italy's government deficit would amount to 2.3% of GDP this year and inch up to 2.4% of GDP in 2018. Government debt as a percentage of GDP is seen rising to 133.2% in 2017 and 133.7% in 2018 from 132.6% last year. A24-Hob (RADIOCOR) 28-06-17 10:51:23 (0222) 5 NNNN