Banca Popolare Italiana and financier Stefano Ricucci will not be able to vote at a key shareholders meeting at Banca Antonveneta on Monday after regulator Consob found they had a secret pact at the bank. The ruling, announced late on Friday, is another blow in a long-running battle between Pop Italiana and ABN Amro to win control of Antonveneta and could swing things back into the Dutch bank's favour, at least temporarily.
ABN's take-over offer for Antonveneta failed on Friday but with Pop Italiana's 30 percent stake and Ricucci's 5 percent frozen, ABN could garner enough votes to nominate a new board on Monday. ABN owns about 30 percent of Antonveneta.
However, for the meeting to be held, at least 50 percent of shareholders must turn up. If Pop Italiana can persuade enough friendly investors not to go, the board meeting will be adjourned until Wednesday, buying the Italians more time.
A source familiar with the situation said on Saturday that Pop Italiana would appeal against Consob's ruling.
The market regulator had already found that Pop Italiana had acted in concert with a group of Italian entrepreneurs to build up a controlling stake in Antonveneta and block ABN's bid, which closed on Friday with less than 3 percent take-up.
But after new market abuse directives allowed magistrates to hand over more evidence, Consob found Ricucci's Magiste International holding company and two Cayman Island-based hedge funds were also involved, the watchdog said in a statement.
The discovery of a new secret pact does not alter Pop Italiana's two bids on Antonveneta - one of which it was forced to make after the first undeclared pact was found.
"In accordance with (Italian law), BPI and Magiste cannot exercise the voting rights on the shares that have not met legal requirements," Consob said, adding that the shares held by the hedge funds Generation and Active were also frozen.
Pop Italiana won control of Antonveneta's board in April but the vote was annulled when Consob found the first secret pact at the bank and an ABN-friendly board was reinstated.
Italian investors have clubbed up to block foreign assaults on both Antonveneta and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. On Friday, Spain's BBVA dropped its bid for BNL, leaving investors to sell to Italian insurer Unipol.
ABN has kept mum about what it will do with its Antonveneta shares and a source close to the situation said this week that the Dutch group could hold on to the stock and smoke Pop Italiana out with lengthy legal wrangles.
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