Unipol initiated with "overweight"

10/09/07 - J.P. Morgan Securities

LONDON, October 9 (newratings.com) - Analysts at JP Morgan initiate coverage of Unipol SpA (UIP) with an "overweight" rating. The target price is set to €3.30.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company is targeting a merger with a bank by end-2007. Unipol intends to return all or a part of its projected excess capital of €1.8 billion, if the merger does not transpire, the analysts add. Shareholder benefits would be maximised if the company returns a minimum of €1 billion of its excess capital and enters into a nil premium merger based on shares with a bank, JP Morgan believes.