Italian banking battle escalates as UniCredit quietly buys shares in coveted insurer

ROME — Italy’s UniCredit has bought a stake in insurance giant Generali Group, according to two people familiar with the matter, adding another twist to a byzantine banking battle brewing in Italy’s north.

Generali is in the crosshairs of several competing groups, including the Rome-allied billionaire Del Vecchio and Caltagirone families, as well as Milan-based investment bank Mediobanca.

UniCredit is separately trying to take over Milan lender Banco BPM, in which both groups also own a stake. One of the people said that while the purchase of a stake by UniCredit was not an outright attempt to exert leverage over the billionaires’ bid for Generali, it will have an “interesting” effect at a coming board meeting.