Mediobanca Buyer beware

Brash entrepreneurs have of late attacked important power nodes in Italy’s closely-held financial system. But has the battle now got to the very core of it? Mediobanca, the Milanese investment bank which sits at the centre of a criss-cross of key shareholdings, has seen its stock rise by around 20% since the beginning of May – the majority of that in the past ten days. It’s not inconceivable. Until recently, the idea of a bid for Mediobanca would have provoked laughter rather than fear in Piazze...