Monte Paschi Investors Back Mediobanca Offer in Win for CEO (1)

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s shareholders authorized Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio to go ahead with his bid for Mediobanca SpA, taking him a big step closer to his goal of acquiring the rival lender.

Some 87% of the bank’s investors attending the meeting on Thursday approved a motion that enables Lovaglio to issue new Monte Paschi shares as a way to fund the deal. He needed backing from two-thirds of the voting rights represented at the event.

The outcome now hands the baton to Mediobanca shareholders, with the management of the investment bank staunchly against ...