Paris - European shares slipped on Monday, taking a breather following recent sharp gains, while shares in Pirelli rose 2.1 percent after China National Chemical Corporation agreed to buy the tyre maker in a 7.1 billion euro deal.
The acquisition, agreed with Pirelli shareholders on Sunday, will see state-owned ChemChina take over the world's fifth-largest tyre maker and one of the symbols of Italy's manufacturing industry.
At 08h05 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.4 percent at 1,605.03 points, after climbing 0.8 percent on Friday.
Reuters