On May 2, 2016, Mercury BondCo announced it had entered into a sale-and-purchase definitive agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo SpA to acquire Setefi Services SpA and Intesa Sanpaolo Card, the payment processing platforms of Intesa Sanpaolo operating, respectively, in Italy and Central Eastern Europe. We do not expect the acquisition to significantly affect the creditworthiness of Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane SpA (ICBPI). We are therefore affirming our 'BB-/B' ratings on ICBPI, as well as the 'B/B' ratings on Mercury BondCo and the 'B' rating on the existing payment-in-kind notes. The stable outlook reflects our view that the ratings on ICBPI incorporate most of the risks we see for ICBPI's performance. On May 31, 2016, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its
