Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on March 4, 2025
By Angelo Amante
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government is open to changing its "golden power" legislation allowing intervention on mergers and takeovers, a cabinet undersecretary said on Tuesday, as part of efforts to cut red tape weighing on businesses.
Designed at the EU level to fend off unwanted non-European Union buyers, the golden power rules were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to shield companies deemed as strategic when valuations crashed.
Some countries, including Italy, have applied the legislation to the financial sector - in addition to others - and among the deals currently under consideration is UniCredit's unsolicited bid for smaller bank Banco BPM.
Cabinet undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano said companies were increasingly prone to informing authorities of any potential deal to avoid possible infractions and fines, but most of their notifications did not prompt any action from the government.
"One key point for reflection is the significant gap between the number of notifications and the number of measures actually adopted," said Mantovano, a close aide to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
He said notifications had grown by roughly 30% in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, and it was reasonable to consider changes.
"It is reasonable to consider ... the possibility of fine-tuning the law to assess whether any aspects need adjustment," he told reporters at the presentation of the annual national intelligence report.
Mantovano said golden powers should not be used to shield workers from job cuts, unless the number of employees in a company is so significant to pose issues of a national interest.
EU authorities are also reviewing the framework for the screening of foreign direct investment to propose more uniform rules, officials have previously told Reuters.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
