ChemChina to buy into Pirelli in $7.7bn deal

Milan - China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) is to buy Pirelli, the world's fifth-largest tyre maker, in a €7.1bn deal that will put the 143-year-old Italian company in Chinese hands.

The deal agreed with Pirelli's top shareholders on Sunday is the latest in a series of takeovers made in Italy by cash-rich Chinese buyers, who can take advantage of a weak euro just as signs emerge that Europe is coming out of economic stagnation.

The offer will be launched at 15 euros per share, valuing the Italian group at €7.1bn excluding net debt of almost €1bn at the end of 2014. The ChemChina unit also envisages taking Pirelli private.