Word: montedison
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...revolt was sparked by fear among investors that Montedison was on the verge of "hidden nationalization." The two biggest government industrial enterprises-ENI and I.R.I.-recently acquired a near-controlling interest in Montedison, a diversified manufacturer of chemicals and other basic products (TIME, Oct. 18). Now they were proposing a rule change that would give government forces virtual veto power in the Montedison board. Enraged, more than 2,000 small stockholders turned up at the meeting, the largest such group ever to so gather in Italy...
...assigned proxies, 72 million to 308 million. But, as one insurgent shouted, "I have been in India and I know the meaning of passive resistance. We will stay here ten days if necessary." A filibuster was on. Every now and then, somebody would jump up and shout: "Shareholders of Montedison, resist!" The meeting went on for 17 hours until 2:30 a.m. Ultimately, Valerio and the government forces had to accept a stalemate. The proposed rule change was tabled, pending a future session...
...them, Giorgio Pisano, the manager of Candido magazine, vowed: "The battle has just begun." At the very least, Italian businessmen have seen an impressive sign of small-investor muscle. Other European industrialists cannot write off the incident as a show of Italian emotionalism. On the same day as the Montedison revolt, a determined band of West German shareholders did battle with the directors of the NSU auto manufacturing firm. As a result, they won the promise of a higher price per share for agreeing to merge their firm with a subsidiary of Volkswagen...
...Ghost. Montedison's stagnation is not the only reason that ENI and I.R.I, moved in. Another factor was last May's general elections, which resulted in a shift to the left and new government pressures for greater program-mazione, or central economic planning. What promoted the move more than anything else was a feud between Montedison's Valerio and Eugenio Cefis, 47, boss of ENI. Cefis was convinced that Italian firms, in order to fare better in foreign markets, had to "coordinate" their sales abroad in a kind of cartel arrangement. Valerio seemed more interested in competing...
...Cefis' ENI, Italy's petrochemical giant, will indeed "coordinate" with chemical-making Montedison, and the two may unite to form Europe's third biggest industrial company. One change that ENI and I.R.I, appear to have in mind for the future at Montedison is the replacement of its boss with somebody more to the government's liking. Valerio is resigned to that. Government leaders, he admits, seem to be in a position "to do as they like...