Plans to keep Parmalat Italian

Intesa Sanpaolo, an Italian bank, says it could team up with Ferrero, manufacturer of Nutella, to help keep Italy’s biggest listed food group Parmalat in Italian hand. Meanwhile, the Italian government is working on a legal measure to protect strategic Italian companies from foreign buyers, according to a recent report on Reuters. The Ferrero group says it was closely watching the battle for Parmalat between three foreign investment funds and French dairy group Lactalis, but stopped short of saying it would take part in any bid. “In the Parmalat case, the Ferrero group is looking with interest and sympathy at an industrial Italian solution,” the company notes in an email sent to Reuters.
Corrado Passera , the chief executive of Intesa Sanpaolo, says that it was ready to lend its support to a strong industrial project for Parmalat and could link up with Ferrero. The bank was backing Paramalat chief executive Enrico Bondi, who helped turn around the Italian dairy giant after its collapse in 2003.
Meanwhile, Lactalis Group has expanded its shares in the Italian concern to 29%, taking it just shy of the 30% that would trigger an official takeover bid under Italian law.