This archive report concerns RCS Mediagroup’s challenge to its 2013 sale of central Milan real estate to Blackstone.
A source at the Italian publisher said RCS believes the U.S. private equity firm paid too little for the assets because the company was under financial strain when the transaction was completed in 2013. The source said the dispute was first raised in a letter in March and then again in July before RCS launched arbitration proceedings under Italian law last week to seek annulment of the sale.
RCS, which owns the daily Corriere della Sera, said late on Tuesday that it had started the arbitration process, but did not give further details. The company could not immediately be reached for comment.
Blackstone disputes the allegation. A source close to the private equity group said it viewed RCS’s attempt to void the deal as “wholly fabricated”.
The fight over the Milan properties has also moved into U.S. courts. Blackstone filed a separate case in New York on Tuesday, accusing RCS Mediagroup of delaying a planned sale of the same properties to Allianz after RCS said the transaction was “null and void”, according to court documents seen by Reuters.
The source material also includes a file photo dated 4 April 2016 showing Blackstone trading information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
RCS Mediagroup could not immediately be reached for comment.
