Blackstone says Milan court ruled only on validity of 2013 property sale

MILAN (Reuters) – Milan’s arbitral court has ruled only that the 2013 sale to Blackstone of RCS’ headquarters is valid while it has taken no decision on possible compensation for the Italian publisher, a spokesman for the U.S. firm said.

RCS said late on Tuesday that the court, in deeming the 2013 transaction valid, had found that Blackstone’s behavior may entitle the publisher of Corriere della Sera daily to compensatory damages, subject to the advice of two experts.

“The facts are very clear There was only one decision made by the arbitrators yesterday: that the 2013 transaction was valid. There was absolutely no decision or assessment about any right to damages for RCS,” a spokesman for Blackstone said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Valentina Za; editing by Agnieszka Flak)