MILAN: Shares in Italy's Banca Carige rose sharply after Malacalza Investimenti agreed to buy 10.5 percent of the mid-sized bank, becoming the top investor.

Vittorio Malacalza told Italian daily La Stampa on Monday he did not rule out increasing the stake in Genoa-based Carige to 24 percent.

At 0850 GMT shares in Banca Carige were up 9.77 percent to 0.0719 euros, outperforming a 1 percent rise in Italian banking index. The stock initially failed to start trading at the beginning of the session.

Copyright Reuters, 2015