Activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors today denied it had taken a stake in Italian investment bank Mediobanca.
It follows reports on Friday from Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the activist investor had built up a one per cent stake in the European company.
The report also suggested it had a plan to build its stake up further, as it tried to strengthen its hand to trigger a shake-up at the bank.
It added that Elliott was interested in pushing the investor to spin off its 13 per cent stake in leading Italian insurer Generali.
However, an emailed statement today confirmed Elliott was not interested in taking a stake in Mediobanca.
"Elliott Advisors Limited confirms the funds that it advises have no position in the equity (or debt) of Mediobanca,” a spokeswoman said.
The world's biggest activist hedge fund Elliott was earlier this year revealed to have quietly built up a four per cent stake in troubled sub-prime lender Provident – making it the firm's seventh largest investor.
It's also recently tried to push miner BHP, which it holds a five per cent stake in, to unify its dual market listing in Australia and the US in a bid to raise £16bn in shareholder value.
Read more: Elliott ramps up BHP row with a new billboard campaign
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