MILAN (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc (>> BlackRock, Inc.), the world's largest money manager, has raised its stake in UniCredit (>> UniCredit SpA) to become the Italian bank's largest shareholder, according to a filing posted on market watchdog Consob's website on Friday.

Investors in listed Italian companies must notify Consob if their stake exceeds 5 percent.

BlackRock also recently increased its holding in UniCredit's domestic rival Intesa Sanpaolo (>> Intesa Sanpaolo SpA) to 5 percent, and is thus Intesa's second biggest investor.

(Reporting by Gainluca Semeraro, editing by Silvia Aloisi)

Stocks treated in this article : BlackRock, Inc., Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, UniCredit SpA