Italy's Seat chief executive Cappellini dies

MILAN (Reuters) - Alberto Cappellini, chief executive of Italian directory publisher Seat Pagine Gialle (PGIT.MI) which he recently steered through a key debt restructuring deal, died on Saturday at the age of 52 after a heart attack during a bicycle ride.

"Seat announces with deep sadness the premature demise of Alberto Cappellini," the group said in a statement on Saturday.

Two weeks ago, after several months of intense negotiations, Cappellini secured a deal with creditors that saved the Turin-based company from bankruptcy proceedings.

Cappellini took the helm at Seat in 2009 and refocused the group on developing new products to face internet competition.

Earlier in March, Seat creditors agreed to a restructuring deal that slashed debt to around 1.4 billion euros (1.171 billion pounds) and included the conversion of 1.2 billion euros of junior debt into equity.

The restructuring must be implemented through a British court and is likely to be completed in September-October, Seat executives said.

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)