ROME, Dec 12 Reuters Camfin, the family vehicle of Pirelli39;s executive vice chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, is planning to increase its stake in the tyremaker to 29.9 from 26.1, Italian daily Il Messaggero reported on Thursday.

To fund the operation and to cut the cost of its debt, Camfin is working to obtain 650 million euros 682.96 million in financing from a pool of banks led by UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo and including Banco BPM, the newspaper said.

Camfin is Pirelli39;s secondlargest shareholder behind China39;s Sinochem which holds a 37 stake. The Chinese group39;s influence in the company has been curbed by measures taken by the Italian government. Tronchetti Provera has been in charge of Pirelli since 1992.

Last month a senior government official said Italy was checking whether the presence of Sinochem executives on Pirelli39;s board was in breach of measures Rome imposed to protect the tyremaker39;s autonomy.

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Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, Writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Giulia Segreti

Source Reuters