Unicredit-Bpm, EU: 'No letter sent for golden power'
This was stated by an EU Commission spokesperson regarding the sending of the letter from Brussels on the issue of the exercise of golden power vis-à-vis Unicredit.
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"We have not taken any decision. We have not even concluded any preliminary assessment and no letter has been sent." This was stated by an EU Commission spokesperson regarding the sending of the letter from Brussels on the issue of the exercise of golden power vis-à-vis Unicredit.
On 8 July, however, a Bloomberg note reported that a Brussels decision would reject the Italian government's golden power to Unicredit over the takeover bid launched by Piazza Gae Aulenti for Banco Bpm. According to Bloomberg, the EU rebuked the Italian government for imposing tough conditions on UniCredit's takeover of Banco Bpm, triggering a power struggle between Brussels and Rome over the fate of the deal.
EU regulators will soon issue formal findings against the Italian government, stating that the latter had no right to influence the proposed takeover of Banco Bpm by UniCredit. The European Commission will say that under the bloc's merger rules, only Brussels has the legal power to impose conditions on the deal, which received EU approval last month.
And so the Italian government will be ordered to withdraw the conditions imposed for the completion of the acquisition of Unicredit. Otherwise, infringement proceedings could be initiated against Italy for violation of EU law.
The move boosts UniCredit's hopes of completing the takeover while Italy is embroiled in a wave of banking transactions that have attracted the attention of regulators. UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel recently stated that the bank will withdraw the deal if the Italian government's conditions are not clarified.
