Italian Mediobanca investors holding 11.9% stake back Banca Generali bid

MILAN (Reuters) -A group of Italian investors in the Italian merchant bank Mediobanca, holding a total stake of 11.9%, broadly backed the proposed bid for private bank Banca Generali in a meeting on Wednesday, two of the shareholders said.

Mediobanca proposed buying Banca Generali in April as it seeks to stave off a buyout bid from Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).

Due to the MPS bid and Italian corporate takeover rules, Mediobanca must first seek shareholders' approval to pursue the Banca Generali deal and has called a meeting for June 16 to vote on the plan.

The group of Italian investors, which includes the asset manager Banca Mediolanum, signed a consultation agreement in 2018 to share observations on the main topics regarding Mediobanca, with no restrictions on voting at the ordinary and extraordinary general shareholders' meetings.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Enrico Sciacovelli)