Credit Agricole Italia says DTA benefit in Creval bid uncertain

MILAN (Reuters) -Credit Agricole Italia cannot say at present whether its proposed takeover of Creval will be able to benefit from Italian tax measures aimed at spurring mergers, the Italian arm of France's Credit Agricole said.

Credit Agricole Italia is set to launch its offer on March 30 after receiving on Monday a green light from Italian market regulator Consob to the offer's prospectus.

To expand its footprint in Italy, its second-largest market after France, Credit Agricole Italia in November said it would pay 10.5 euros for each Creval share in a 737 million euro ($876.74 million) buyout offer.

Creval could not give an official opinion on the bid before the publication of the offer's prospectus but sources close to the matter have said it will fight for a higher price.

Several Creval shareholders have already said the bid's price is too low, pointing to incentives for corporate mergers under Italy's 2021 budget through the use of so-called Deferred Tax Assets (DTAs).

"It is not certain that DTA rules included in the 2021 budget could be used following the acquisition (of Creval)," Credit Agricole Italia said in the prospectus.

($1 = 0.8406 euros)

(Reporting by Andrea Mandala; writing by Valentina Za; editing by Agnieszka Flak)