Società Mediterranea s.p.a.

Pursuant to Article 99.1a) of Legislative Decree 58/1998, Consob has ordered the precautionary suspension for 90 days of the public offering of shares and bonds of Società Mediterranea s.p.a. (Resolution 14722 of 29 September 2004).

The order follows the offer made by Mediterranea s.p.a. to invest in its shares and bonds deriving, respectively, from a capital increase and a special resolution to make a bond issue adopted by the same company; the characteristics of the operation were described in a press release circulated by Società Mediterranea, including via the Internet site www.gruppomediterraneaspa.it; the press release was reported in articles in the local and national press and these articles were also posted on the above-mentioned website.

The information gathered indicates that the operation conducted by Società Mediterranea amounts to a public offering.

Since Consob has no record of having received the prospectus to be published, there are grounds for believing that these activities are in violation of the legal and regulatory requirements governing the solicitation of investors.

(In Consob Informa n. 38/2004 - 4 October 2004)