A deal to sell 10% of Bank of Valletta to a professional investment company has fallen through, the bank told shareholders in a company announcement on Friday.

Amalgamated Investments SICAV plc had entered into a preliminary agreement to buy Unicredit’s 52,500,439 shares in BOV back in April, but that deal is no longer on the table.

“Conditions precedent in the aforementioned preliminary agreement were not all satisfied by the 31st October 2018 and accordingly, the agreement is automatically terminated,” BOV said in its statement.

Founded in August 2000, Amalgamated Investments SICAV plc had assets of €64 million by the end of the 2016 financial year, with liabilities of €50,000.

The company, which is majority owned by the Testaferrata Moroni Viani family through Mercury plc, also holds shares in other major banks.

Italian bank Unicredit's shareholding in Bank of Valletta stems from a deal dating back to 1974, when the Malta Development Corporation had bought 40 per cent of the local bank.

Part of that 40 per cent stake was sold to Banca di Sicilia, which eventually sold its shareholding to Capitalia. Capitalia, in turn, merged with Unicredito Italiano.