The Economist reports that Mediobanca, an Italian investment bank formed in 1946 assist in the reconstruction of Italian industry, has commenced a planned sell-off of $2.2 billion in equity holdings as part of an effort to refocus the firm on its core mission of providing medium-term financing in the Italian sector. Mediobanca’s sales of these shares as part of its unwinding of webs of cross-shareholdings and pacts among big shareholders, as well as the privatization of Fincantieri and Poste Itliane, have released large volumes of shares on to the markets, allowing institutional and other investors to add them to their portfolios. This sudden flow of Italian equities in to the hands of new investors has, it seems, increased participation in corporate governance.
In the hands of new investors, these equities that were previously locked up in voting trusts or held by the government seem to have fueled a renewed interest in participation in the governance of Italian firms.