MILAN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Shares in Italian spirits group Campari rose on Wednesday, bucking a lower Milan market, after Reuters reported that its main shareholder Lagfin is in advanced talks with the Italian Revenue Agency to settle a tax dispute.
Lagfin is set to pay around 400 million euros ($466 million), roughly a third of the sum initially sought by authorities, sources told Reuters late on Tuesday. Italian authorities in October had seized 1.29 billion euros worth of Campari shares in relation to a probe on alleged tax evasion.
Analysts welcomed the prospect of a settlement, saying the development removed risks weighing on the stock, including the possibility that Lagfin may have been forced to sell Campari shares to fund the tax bill.
Luxembourg-based Lagfin, controlled by Italy's Garavoglia family, will pay the settlement in instalments, the sources said. The first tranche of 150 million euros, due by year-end, will be covered with funds already set aside, one of the sources told Reuters.
"I think this should go a long way into removing the perceived overhang risk: the amount is relatively small and can be paid in successive instalments, so the chances of a forced sale of Campari shares are now quite low in my view," Mediobanca Securities analysts wrote in a note.
Campari shares were up 1.4% by 0945 GMT, while Italy's FTSE Mib is down 0.4%.
Banca Akros analysts said a tax settlement of 400 million euros would be "positive news for Campari, as it would remove an element of uncertainty that still weighs on the equity story."
($1 = 0.8592 euros)
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; Editing by Valentina Za)
