Unipol Unipol’s pile

Unipol’s shares have had a rough ride over the last nine months as the Italian insurer pursued a misguided E8.4bn bid for Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. But the Bank of Italy’s decision to block the takeover has created an opportunity for Unipol to repay shareholders for their patience. The insurer should now return the E2.6bn of capital it raised to fund the bid. The surplus cash amounts to almost half of Unipol’s market value. And it is far from clear that the insurer could put that to good use....