Exclusive: ECB has cleared Monte Paschi's takeover bid for Mediobanca, source says
FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has cleared Monte dei Paschi di Siena's proposed acquisition of rival Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), opens new tab, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as a raft of takeover bids reshape Italian finance.
Monte dei Paschi (MPS), which for a decade epitomised Rome's banking woes until a 2017 state bailout, in January shocked investors by bidding for the Milanese merchant bank that was once a powerhouse of Italian capitalism.
A spokesperson for the ECB declined to comment.
The takeover offer followed the state's sale in November of a stake in the bank to a group of Italian shareholders, including the Del Vecchio and Caltagirone families who are also leading shareholders in Mediobanca.
MPS is worth 8.7 billion euros ($10.1 billion) at current prices, while Mediobanca market value approaches 16 billion euros - higher than the 14.6 billion euro value of MPS' all-share offer.
MPS has billions of euros of cash it holds in excess of regulatory capital thresholds, which it could use in part if a sweetener was needed.
Like other Italian banks, MPS has seen profits soar in recent years thanks to higher interest rates, but it has also benefited from favourable court rulings that have allowed it to release cash it had set aside against legal risks.
($1 = 0.8645 euros)
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