Lodi raises stakes in battle for Antonveneta

It would be a clear demonstration of good corporate governance in Italy if the shareholders of Banca Popolare di Lodi called the Lodi Board to account. So far, Lodi has spent over $2 billion buying 30% in Banca Antonveneta, and they plan some more.

They have yet to make a case for this investment, which has made their capital ratios go haywire, and how Lodi shareholders will benefit from this, what appears to be a 'corporate Italia' strategy!

OAM

See Financial Times article:

Banca Popolare di Lodi on Friday intensified its battle with ABN Amro when it unveiled its own offer for Banca Antonveneta, which it said trumped the Dutch bank’s €6.3bn ($8.1bn) bid.

It tabled a complex share and bond deal that it said was worth €26 a share, which would create Italy’s fifth-largest bank by assets, to be named Banca Popolare Italiana.

See full FT Article (paid subscription).