ROME, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Italian Economy Minister Roberto
Gualtieri said on Wednesday the government would use its special
"golden" powers over strategic assets to ensure that the Milan
stock exchange, Borsa Italiana, is not sold to an unacceptable
bidder.
The London Stock Exchange, which bought Borsa Italiana for
1.6 billion euros in 2007, put it on sale to win European Union
approval for its $27 billion takeover of data company Refinitiv.
Gualtieri said in a statement that he hoped Borsa Italiana,
which controls the key bond-trading platform MTS, would not end
up in the hands of a company outside the euro zone.
He said the government was following the operation closely,
"aware of the strategic importance that Borsa Italiana and MTS
have for the correct workings of the Italian financial market
and the entire Italian economic and production system."
(writing by Gavin Jones, editing by Giselda Vagnoni)