Mediobanca CEO Says Governments Are Hampering Bank Consolidation
'I don't think it's going to help the consolidation' of the financial industry in the bloc, Nagel said Friday on Bloomberg TV, referring to efforts to slow or even prevent banking takeovers in Germany, Italy and Spain. That level of obstruction is a 'new factor,' he said.
Several banks including Italy's UniCredit SpA and Spain's BBVA SA have launched attempts to buy rivals, only to meet with sometimes bitter opposition from Berlin, Rome and Madrid. Mediobanca itself is facing an unsolicited offer from domestic competitor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, which is supported by Monte Paschi's largest shareholder, the Italian government.
Nagel has repeatedly rejected the bid. He reiterated in the interview on Friday that he sees it as 'totally inadequate.'
Monte Paschi is offering 25.33 new shares for every 10 in Mediobanca, valuing the target at around €15.2 billion ($17.3 billion) at current prices. That's below Mediobanca's market capitalization of around €15.5 billion.
As part of its defense, Mediobanca has launched an acquisition effort for Banca Generali SpA, the wealth management unit of the country's biggest insurer, Assicurazioni Generali SpA. Nagel said in the interview he's still waiting for a response to the offer from Generali.
Mediobanca said yesterday authorization processes for the Banca Generali acquisition are expected to be completed by Aug. 18 and that it could call a meeting three days later for shareholders to express their views. The bank said it reserves the right to take all relevant decisions by Aug. 6 'in view of how discussions' with Generali are going.
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Mediobanca CEO Says Governments Are Hampering Bank Consolidation
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