Italy Defends Right to Restrict UniCredit’s BPM Bid in EU Reply

Italy has pushed back against European Union criticism of Rome’s power to block or limit deals, which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently used in UniCredit SpA’s now-failed attempt to acquire Banco BPM SpA.

The Italian government said in a letter to Brussels that the terms it had set for a deal to go ahead were in line with the EU law, people familiar with the matter said. Rome sent its response after a preliminary finding by the European Commission said Giorgia Meloni’s government may have violated EU law.

A spokesperson for the Italian government declined to comment. ...