U.S. judge suspends Blackstone lawsuit against Italy’s RCS over Milan HQ

A New York judge has put on hold a lawsuit by Blackstone Group against Italian publisher RCS MediaGroup over the disputed sale of its headquarters, pending the outcome of an arbitration in Italy, which could take a year, reported Reuters.

Both companies claim ownership of RCS’ historic headquarters in central Milan.

However, Blackstone bought the asset from RCS for €120 million ($134 million) in 2013. And the private equity firm spent the following years refurbishing it. As RCS slimmed down its operations and vacated parts of the property, Blackstone rented space to tenants including Loro Piana and UBI Banca, reported The Financial Times.

RCS chairman Urbano Cairo, who became RCS’ controlling shareholder after the 2013 deal, believes the sales price in 2013 was too low, while RCS faced financial difficulties, and the transaction was voided under Italian usury law.

Blackstone said RCS’ claim of being owner has improperly blocked it from se