Italy Meets BlackRock Officials Amid Paschi’s Bid for Mediobanca

Italy’s finance chief and BlackRock Inc.’s top officials met on Thursday, discussing several topics including the takeover bid by Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA of Mediobanca SpA.

BlackRock President Rob Kapito and other representatives of the US investment firm met Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgettiand other officials in Rome, according to people familiar with the matter. The meeting was scheduled ahead of the bid to mark BlackRock’s 25th anniversary in Italy, said the people said, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

“Paschi wasn’t the object of the meeting, but we ...