The European Central Bank approved Ion Group’s request to buy a significant stake in a small Italian bank, allowing the services group owned by Andrea Pignataro to take a “qualifying holding” in the banking industry for the first time.
Ion was authorized to build up a stake in Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra SpA earlier this month, according to people familiar with matter who asked not be named discussing a confidential decision. The Tuscan lender has about €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) in assets.
Ion can now buy as much as 32% of the bank and plans to remain a minority shareholder, one of the people said. Investors or companies seeking to acquire stakes above certain thresholds in a European bank need to get approval from the ECB, which oversees lenders in the region. Among the watchdog’s criteria are whether the buyer is of good repute and has continued financial strength.
Read the full story on Bloomberg here.