UPDATE: Exor Joins Jardine Matheson, Rothschild In Asia

10th Jun 2010 15:43

(Adds details.) By Gilles Castonguay Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES MILAN (Dow Jones)--Italian holding company Exor SpA (EXO.MI) will join conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. (JAR.LN) and private bank Rothschild in a private equity partnership in China and India, committing up to $100 million. "It (the partnership) intends to invest alongside entrepreneurs, corporations and other private equity houses in the midcap segment," Exor said in a statement Thursday. "The partnership, which has $250 million of initial investment capital at its disposal, already has a dedicated investment team in India and will establish a team in China in the next few months," it said. Exor is looking to diversify its investments inside and outside Italy to reduce its dependence on Fiat SpA (F.MI), the industrial group founded by the Agnelli family. The Turin-based investment vehicle of the Agnellis, Exor had looked at Belgian bank KBC Group NV's (KBC.BT) sale of wealth management unit KBL European Private Bankers, as well as the the eventual listing of Fideuram, a unit of Italian retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI). At 1432 GMT, Exor's stock was up 3.69% at EUR13.48. -By Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 02 5821 9908; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 10, 2010 10:43 ET (14:43 GMT)