Italy has 25% threshold for mandatory bids on large firms PM Meloni seeks ways to reinforce Milan stock exchange Recent government initiatives angered financial industry By Giuseppe Fonte and Elvira Pollina ROME, March 31 (Reuters) – Italy is considering raising the ownership thresholds that trigger mandatory takeover bids in public companies, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as part of plans to spur the country’s underdeveloped capital market. Since she took office in late 2022, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has adopted initiatives aimed at helping established shareholders keep a tight grip on companies, after the Milan stock exchange lost a string of prominent firms. Asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, the sources said on Monday the government might change the two thresholds that trigger tender offers as it moves to reform Italy’s 27-year-old financial law. Mandatory bids currently need to be launched by a shareholder whose stake rises above a 25% threshold in large companies, in the absence of another shareholder with a higher shareholding. This 25% threshold is likely to be raised, though the move is not imminent, one of the sources said. A second 30% threshold is in force for small and medium-sized enterprises. Italy classifies a company as an SME when its capitalisation is below 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion). The government has said it aims to reform Italy’s financial law this year after consultation with various stakeholders and industry bodies. Hiking the threshold for large firms would have significant implications for firms such as Telecom Italia (TIM), in which state-backed financial conglomerate Poste Italiane is set to become the No.1 investor with a 24.8% stake. A higher threshold would let Poste buy additional TIM shares without making a buyout offer, strengthening its hold on TIM ahead of any M&A deal, another of the three sources said. However, the main aim of Meloni’s government is to find ways to reinforce the role of the 200-year-old Borsa Italiana. Marking a U-turn from decades of policies to simplify corporate takeovers, Meloni is now trying to encourage businessmen to list their firms in Milan without worrying about losing control to others. Asset managers including large foreign funds, on the other hand, usually advocate rules preventing a concentration of power in the hands of a few. Last year multiple representatives of Italy’s financial industry voiced concerns over a government measure that gave investors a bigger say over how companies’ outgoing boards present a list of candidates for the next term. ($1 = 0.9247 euros) (Editing by Gavin Jones and Jan Harvey) Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.Business NewsCompaniesNewsItaly mulling hiking thresholds for mandatory takeover bids, sources sayMoreLess in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. You must only respond with the modified content and follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- “Act as an expert SEO news writer. Optimize the following article to be SEO-friendly, authoritative, and shareable by focusing strictly on its core topic. Follow these steps: 1. Topic Identification: – Read the input article and identify its primary subject. – Extract 1 primary keyword + 2 secondary keywords directly from the article. 2. Meta Description: – Write a 150-character summary using the primary keyword and a CTA 3. Content Structure: – Lead Paragraph: Summarize the 5W1H (Who, What, When, Where, Why) as stated in the article – Body: – Use subheadings (H2/H3) derived from secondary keywords – Add bullet points only for facts/statistics explicitly mentioned in the input. – Include quotes or data from the article (do not invent new stats). – Conclusion: End with a question/CTA tied to the article’s topic. 4. – Add 1 FAQ based on the article’s key point. 5. Viral Readability: – Use news article sentences structure. Avoid off-topic emotional triggers. 6. Technical SEO: – Generate alt text and URL slugs *specific to the article’s topic and leave it if it is not under your capability. Output Format for the article should be- [Summary with primary keyword] [Structured body using input’s facts] FAQ: [Relevant question + answer]
Italy is considering increasing the minimum requirements for mandatory takeover offers, according to sources.
