The deal will generate 740 million euros ($943.2 million) for the Italian tire and telecommunications company.

The move comes after weeks of persistent rumors that Pirelli would sell a minority share in its tire unit after it pulled its planned stock offering for the operations in late June. Some media outlets reported that the deal would not come about, despite strong evidence to the contrary.

Banks involved in the consortium include Mediobanca, Banca Intesa, Capitalia, Gruppo Banca Leonardo, One Equity Partners, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan. Pirelli and the banks are working out the details of the agreement, including representation for the banks on the unit’s board and the transfer of the stakes in case of a public offer of the shares at a later time, Pirelli said.

Pirelli also announced that its overall first half operating profit rose 6.7%, driven by its tire unit, which saw first half sales increase 12.4% to 1.8 billion euros and operating profit increase 4.1% to 195 million euros.