A bidding war erupts for the world’s oldest bank

FOR MONTHS Italian finance has been gripped by the €16bn ($18bn) takeover by Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the world’s oldest surviving lender, of Mediobanca, an investment bank which also happens to own a 13% stake in Generali, a giant insurer. Completed last September, it was the biggest European banking merger in years, and one of the biggest deals in any industry on the old continent. It involved the abrupt sacking of MPS’s boss by the board in April and his rapid reinstatement by shareholders.