MILAN (Reuters) – UniCredit remains focused on its takeover bid for Banco BPM and its stake in Commerzbank, a spokesperson for the Italian bank said, after two sources confirmed a report about an investment in Generali.
Italy’s top insurer Generali is under the spotlight as CEO Philippe Donnet faces a battle for reappointment in May.
Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Saturday UniCredit had been working to build a 4-5% stake in Generali.
The two people confirmed UniCredit held Generali shares, but added the stake had been built earlier on, before a buyout offer launched on Jan. 24 by state-backed bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) on Mediobanca.
Mediobanca is Generali’s No.1 investor and the MPS bid has been seen as a way to pressure Generali as it prepares to renew its leadership and negotiates a landmark asset management deal with France’s BPCE.
UniCredit’s Generali stake is smaller than the size indicated by Il Sole, one of the sources said.
(Reporting by Valentina Za and Gianluca Semeraro; Editing by Angelo Amante)
