It’s going badly for the publishing group Rcs and for Urban Cairo. After the negative outcome of the Milanese arbitration award on the sale of the property of via Solferino, the American fund Blackstone back to the attack. Asks the New York courthouse to unify the two cases against RCS and Cairo and formalizes the request for a maxi-compensation: Blackstone’s claim, quantified by the firm’s lawyers Kirkland&Ellis, in fact amounts to 600 million dollars, amounting to over 505 million euros. In detail, the American company asked for $ 300 million for the failure to sell of the building in via Solferino ad Allianz, previously sold by RCS to Blackstone, and another 300 million indemnity.
“With this action, Blackstone and its affiliates are seeking damages from RCS and Urbano Cairo for theslanderous interference e willful exercised in the sale of commercial properties in Milan to a third party, Allianz Real Estate – we read in the document that the lawyers of the American fund have just filed with the New York court – In 2013, RCS has incontrovertibly sold the property in question (via Solferino , ed) to plaintiffs after a selective process which involved several investors. However, five years later (in 2018), after learning from the media about the sale of the property in Allianz, RCS and Mister Cairo attempted aextortion and caused harm to the plaintiffs and his own investors blocking the sale to Allianz “.
Hard words with heavy accusations which manifest Blackstone’s will to go all the way. According to US lawyers, “RCS and Mr. Cairo tried to shake the plaintiffs, hoping to force Blackstone to make a payment in order to avoid interference with the pending sale of the properties by the plaintiffs, ”the document reads. In other words, the letter sent to Blackstone by RCS and Cairo il 13th July 2018, in which the sale of via Solferino to the American fund, dated 2013 and occurred in a situation of financial difficulty of RCS, “it was nothing but a blackmail not explicit “. Moreover, it arrived at its destination three days after the Italian press had revealed Allianz’s interest in the historic headquarters of the Corriere della Sera. According to Blackstone’s lawyers, the conduct of RCS and Cairo, in addition to having blown the sale, also caused additional costs such as those related to the break of the negotiation with Allianz e management fees of the Milanese building for another three years.
Hence the maxi-claim for compensation that risks putting Cairo in serious difficulty given that the entire RCS is worth about 376 million, a figure far below the American claims for compensation. Not to mention the embarrassment caused in Banca Intesa, advisor of the sale of the building in via Solferino to Blackstone, as well as principal lender of Cairo and the publishing group. At this point, the RCS and Cairo lawyers have 30 days to submit their observations. Then the judge of the US Supreme Court will define the calendar of the hearings which, in all likelihood, should start after the summer. Meanwhile, nothing excludes that the negotiations between Milan and New York may advance well before reaching one mediation.
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