Italian tycoon Carlo De Benedetti’s bid for...

Italian tycoon Carlo De Benedetti’s bid for control of Belgium’s biggest company got a major boost when a Brussels court disallowed Societe Generale de Belgique’s creation of 12 million shares aimed at fending him off. De Benedetti wants to increase his 18.6% stake in the firm to 25%, giving him effective control. French financial firm Compagnie Financiere de Suez has also been on a buying campaign and is thought to own about 15%. Belgian industrialist Andre Leysen, who leads a mostly Belgian group that has snapped up 27.5% of Societe Generale, says he and the two others should talk.