COFIDE, a holding company that operates in the automotive, industrial machinery, and the publishing industries, agreed to acquire a stake in CIR Group, an Italian holding company, for $286m. “The merger is an important turning point which will enable us to simplify the group structure consistently with the evolution of the market in the interest of the shareholders of CIR and COFIDE. The new holding company will confirm its focus on its industrial businesses and will be named CIR. Together with the CEO Monica Mondardini we will continue to pursue our policy of creating value for all our shareholders and to strengthen and grow our strategic investments," Rodolfo De Benedetti, COFIDE Chairman.