Recordati, a listed Italian pharmaceutical business, agreed to merge with Rossini Investimenti, a special purpose entity, and Fimei, Recordati's shareholder, in a €9bn ($10.9bn) deal. The main reasons underlying the decision to proceed with the merger, with the consequent expediency of the transaction for Recordati and for the entire group to which it belongs, are as follows: shortening the chain of control with respect to the operating companies and simplifying the group’s corporate structure, in line with national and international practice; reducing the administrative costs associated with maintaining the Disappearing Companies, with the consequent release of resources for the benefit of the entire group; obtaining administrative synergies and synergies linked to fixed structural costs, as well as greater financial efficiency resulting from a shortening of the chain of control which will allow a faster recovery of dividend flows, and resulting in a lower tax cost as a consequence of the elimination of additional tax levels.