MPS chief puts revamp of world's oldest bank to market test with Mediobanca bid
When a group of Harvard Business School students visited Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena in January, they gathered notes to build a case study on how to turn around a bank. The strength of that case may now depend on whether shareholders on Thursday approve CEO Luigi Lovaglio's surprise 12-billion-euro ($13.6 billion) hostile takeover offer for rival Mediobanca, made just days after the student visit. Advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services has urged shareholders to reject the plan as it leaves "little margin for error", while rival Glass Lewis is in favour, saying Lovaglio's track record provides guarantees for shareholders.