Mediobanca (BIT: MB) is an Italian investment bank founded by Enrico Cuccia in 1946 to facilitate the post-World War II reconstruction of Italian industry.
[edit] History
From then until the end of the 20th century it took an active and usually decisive role in nearly every major merger, takeover and industrial restructuring. Its final and perhaps greatest coup was its decisive role in the 1999 takeover of Telecom Italia by Olivetti.[2] The deal was decided by the narrowest of margins with 51% of shareholders voting in favour of the deal.[3] Under Cuccia's leadership, which lasted until his death in 2000, the bank was widely described as "secretive"[4][5][6] despite being publicly-traded: meetings with analysts or interviews with the media were not granted.[4]
[edit] Mediobanca today
In October 2002, Cuccia's successor, Vincenzo Maranghi, faced the first shareholder revolt in Mediobanca's history, with hostile minority shareholders accusing the board of running Mediobanca's affairs for influence rather than profit and criticising Mediobanca's behind-the-curtain firing of Gianfranco Gutty, the CEO, for Italy's insurance giant Generali a month earlier.[4] Early in April 2003, Maranghi was forced to step down from the board.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2008". Mediobanca. http://www.mediobanca.it/files/443/AnnualReport_300608_Final.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ "Obituary: Enrico Cuccia". The Daily Telegraph. 24 June 2000. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1344642/Enrico-Cuccia.html. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ "Olivetti conquers Telecom Italia". BBC News. 22 May 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/348931.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ a b c Edmondson, Gail (18 November 2002). "Mediobanca: A Titan Trembles". BusinessWeek. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_46/b3808166.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ Ringshaw, Grant (9 July 2000). "Death in Milan". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/4457541/Death-in-Milan.html. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ Garfield, Andrew (14 May 1999). "Mediobanca finds ally in Italian power play". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/mediobanca-finds-ally-in-italian-power-play-1093491.html. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
[edit] External links
