Veneto Banca has banking consortium in place to back EUR 1bn capital increase
Veneto Banca, the Italian bank, has put in place a banking consortium to back its EUR 1bn capital increase, Italian language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
The unsourced article said the principal international investment banks had signalled their willingness to take part in the consortium.
The report added that an official announcement will be made if shareholders approve Veneto Banca's transformation from a cooperative society into a joint stock company when they meet tomorrow, 19 December.
The item noted a positive vote is necessary for the capital increase and a subsequent listing to go ahead.
The report also cited Veneto Banca CEO Cristiano Carrus who said that talks had been taking place with various parties including banks interested in a potential merger. Carrus said these banks could take a significant stake in Veneto Banca via the capital increase as the first step to toward such a merger.
The item noted that Carrus refused to be drawn on the identity of the merger candidates, but the report, without citing sources, said that listed Italian banks Banco Popolare and BPER were the prime candidates.
Il Sole 24 Ore