Italian family holding De Agostini moves to take DeA Capital private

MILAN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Italian family holding company De Agostini said on Friday it planned to take private its vehicle for financial investments DeA Capital spending up to 128.6 million euros ($135.4 million) to buy out other investors.

If the offer is successful, DeA Capital will be the 13th company this year to quit the Milan stock exchange, which is owned by Paris-based Euronext.

The announcement by De Agostini, owned by Italy's Boroli-Drago family, comes days after the Benetton family de-listed their infrastructure holding company Atlantia with help from Blackstone.

De Agostini will pay 1.50 euros for each DeA Capital share it does not already own, a 31.1% premium to Thursday's closing price, it said in a statement.

Shares in Dea Capital jumped 28.7% to 1.47 euros by 1148 GMT.

De Agostini said the decision to take the group private reflected changes in its business model which had reduced its capital needs.

DeA Capital has moved away from direct private equity investments, and now runs the funds which carry out the investments - a less capital intensive business model, De Agostini said.

The delisting will provide DeA Capital with greater management flexibility and help it cut costs, it added. "The costs associated with the listing do not appear justifiable in light of the low volumes traded and the high volatility of the stock," it said.

De Agostini, which earlier this week had denied plans to sell Dea Capital, currently holds a 67% stake in the asset management company.

The takeover bid shows that the shareholder is strongly committed to maintaining control and to investing in DeA Capital, a source close to the holding company said on Friday. (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Elisa Anzolin; editing by Valentina Za)