Italian businessman Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone has raised his stake in Banca Monte dei Paschi (MPS) to 8%, as reported by Italian newspaper La Stampa on Thursday.
Both Caltagirone and MPS have chosen not to comment. Caltagirone's investments in Italy's financial industry place him at the center of the sector's current consolidation trend.
This upgrade in stake follows MPS's unexpected 13.3 billion euro all-stock bid to acquire Mediobanca in January, a move that Mediobanca has labeled as hostile.
Caltagirone, an established investor in companies like Generali and Mediobanca, currently holds a 5.3% stake in Anima Holding, which Banco BPM seeks to purchase, and a 2% interest in BPM.
Regarding MPS, the 81-year-old Caltagirone has become an advocate of Italy's conservative government, which has consistently expressed its intention to re-privatize the rescued bank to help establish a third major banking group in the country.
In November, Caltagirone acquired a 3.5% stake in MPS when the Italian Treasury divested a portion of the Tuscan bank, subsequently increasing his share to 5%.
The Treasury had initially favored merging MPS with Banco BPM, but UniCredit's unsolicited bid for BPM disrupted that plan. BPM had acquired a 5% stake in MPS before UniCredit's move, potentially paving the way for a future merger.