Generali shares fall sharply after Intesa axes tie-up plan
MILAN (Reuters) - Shares in Assicurazioni Generali (GASI.MI) fell sharply at open on Monday after bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) said late on Friday it had decided not to pursue a possible tie-up with Italy's biggest insurer.
By 0805 GMT shares in Generali lost 4.8 percent at 13.4 euros each. Shares in the insurer's top shareholder Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) lost 1 percent bucking a higher banking sector.
Shares in Intesa Sanpaolo, which had fallen sharply since news of its interest in Generali first leaked on Jan. 22, rose 6 percent. The stock had initially failed to start trading on Monday.
Intesa, which had confirmed at the time it was studying a possible tie-up with Generali, said on Friday it had decided against such a deal because it would not create value for its shareholders.
(Reporting by Valentina Za)
