BPM CEO Castagna Slams UniCredit Threat to Pull Takeover Bid (2)

Banco BPM SpA Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Castagna blasted a UniCredit SpA statement as both sides step up their rhetoric in a takeover battle.

UniCredit on Monday morning threatened to drop its takeover bid for Banco BPM if the rival succeeds in getting shareholder approval for a change to its own takeover offer, for asset manager Anima Holding SpA.

The scenarios used by UniCredit in its release are “very dangerous,” Castagna said on Bloomberg TV only minutes after the UniCredit statement had been released. The competitor is “trying to influence” Banco BPM’s shareholder vote, slated for Feb. 28.