MILAN - Dutch bank ABN Amro is preparing a takeover bid for Italian bank Banca Antonveneta, a move that would test Italy's determination to protect its banking sector from foreigners, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
ABN Amro chief executive Rijkman Groenink is to meet Tuesday with the governor of the Bank of Italy, Antonio Fazio, to outline his bank's move for a possible acquisition of Antonveneta, one of the country's smaller banks with a capitalization of 6.6 billion euros (8.7 billion dollars), the British newspaper said.
The Dutch bank holds 12.7 percent of Antonveneta but has not been allowed to increase its stake in the Italian bank, which is weighing a possible merger with domestic rival Banca Popolare di Lodi, the FT noted.
Fazio, governor of the central bank since 1993, has a veto on bank mergers, it noted.
According to the Italian daily La Repubblica, the Dutch group would be able to launch an offer from April 16, the day after a shareholder pact in Antonveneta expires.
In another scenario fuelling speculation, Antonveneta was seen linking up with domestic rival Capitalia, in which ABN Amro holds 9.0 percent.
However, a source close to ABN Amro dismissed the rumor as "baseless," the Italian press reported.
A full takeover offer by ABN Amro for Antonveneta would test the closed-club Italian banking system.
The European Commission sent Fazio a letter in early February seeking assurance that the Bank of Italy would not block foreign acquisition of Italian banks.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Fazio have signalled recently they wanted to preserve the Italian identity of Italian banks by limiting foreign holdings, except in cases of reciprocity.
According to the Italian press, the two leaders agreed on a maximum foreign participation of 15 percent.
03/08/2005 12:26 GMT