Exor NV rose to a record high after the Agnelli family holding began exclusive talks to sell its PartnerRe reinsurance unit to France’s Covea for about $9 billion in cash.For some reason, even though I know Covea, since this story broke there is a split-second when I think 'Covfefe' on seeing the name.
Shares in Exor, which also controls Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Ferrari NV, rose as much as 6% in Milan to trade at 74.2 euros, giving the holding a market value of 17.9 billion euros ($19.6 billion).
Exor and Covea on Sunday confirmed that they’ve entered exclusive discussions, after the talks were first reported by Bloomberg. Covea approached the Agnellis with an unsolicited $9 billion offer for the Bermuda-based reinsurer, people familiar with the situation said.
Exor, led by Agnelli scion John Elkann -- who’s also chairman of Fiat and Ferrari -- agreed to buy PartnerRe in 2015 in a deal that valued the company at about $6.9 billion. That was part of a plan to diversify away from the capital-intensive auto industry.
A sale now would mark a significant gain for the Italian billionaire clan and and be another major deal for Elkann just months after Fiat Chrysler agreed to combine with PSA Group to create the world’s fourth-biggest carmaker....MUCH MORE
I have to remind myself that Covfefe is a horse. A very, very fast horse. Possibly the fastest female horsey in the world right now. Not a French insurance company.
