Shareholders at Italy's Banca Popolare di Lodi backed on Thursday a 1.5 billion euro capital hike the bank needs to launch a mostly share bid for Banca Antonveneta, at the centre of a takeover row, Reuters reported. Co-operative bank Pop Lodi is battling Dutch bank ABN AMRO for control of Italy's ninth largest bank, Antonveneta, in a key test for the openness of Europe's financial sector. A tie-up between Pop Lodi and Antonveneta would create Italy's fifth largest bank with around 2,000 branches and a strong presence in Italy's rich northeastern regions. "The two banks are made to be together. There are very few overlaps. It's destiny," Pop Lodi's chief executive Gianpiero Fiorani told shareholders in Lodi, south of Milan. "We want to become a reference point for the country's small and medium enterprises," Fiorani added, hinting at the myriad of firms which form the backbone of Italy's industrial sector. ABN, 14 times bigger than Pop Lodi, is trying to carry out the first foreign takeover of an Italian bank and last month launched a 6.3 billion euros ($7.73 billion) -- 25 euros per share -- cash offer for Antonveneta. --More 2313 Local Time 2013 GMT
