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Reuters
28-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Unipol chair hints that ING could be studying Popolare di Sondrio bid
MILAN, March 28 (Reuters) - Unipol Chairman Carlo Cimbri said on Friday a foreign bank was studying a potential bid for Popolare di Sondrio ( opens new tab to rival the one unveiled by Italy's BPER Banca ( opens new tab. Insurer Unipol is the leading shareholder in both BPER and Pop Sondrio and has thrown its weight behind BPER's bid for Pop Sondrio. Speaking at the presentation of Unipol's multi-year plan, Cimbri hinted at Dutch bank ING as a possible suitor by saying the bank interested in Pop Sondrio was the colour of a journalist's tie, which was orange. ING did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cimbri said Unipol could be open to considering rival bids for Pop Sondrio. Asked about unconfirmed rumours of foreign interest for the bank, Cimbri said: "It looks like a foreign group has hired lawyers and advisers to study a potential deal for Popolare di Sondrio: it's totally legitimate. We're an investor and if someone else makes a spectacular bid it's not like we've promised eternal love, we don't pick sides." "We don't have eternal friends or eternal foes, only our interests are eternal: ... we're open to any proposition."
Reuters
28-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Unipol targets higher profits, dividends in new plan
MILAN, March 28 (Reuters) - Italian financial group Unipol ( opens new tab aims to make a total net profit of 3.8 billion euros ($4.1 billion) over the next three years as it invests in technology and bancassurance to bolster its core insurance business. Unipol, Italy's second biggest insurer, also pledged to pay out up to 2.2 billion euros in dividends to shareholders over the period, it said in its 2025-2027 business plan, unveiled on Friday. Under the plan - dubbed "Stronger/Faster/Better" - Unipol said it aimed to enhance its industrial profitability and strengthen its distribution network. It aims to generate 1 billion euros in capital organically over the plan to boost its financial strength and capacity for future investments. In the final year of the plan, Unipol aims to achieve total insurance income of 18 billion euros, with non-life business targeted to generate 10.6 billion, and life business the remaining 7.4 billion. The insurer exceeded the targets set out in its previous three-year plan, which had guided for net profits of 2.3 billion euros and dividends totalling 960 million euros. Unipol is the main shareholder in BPER Banca ( opens new tab and Banca Popolare di Sondrio ( opens new tab with a near 20% stake in each Italian bank, which distribute the insurer's products. Unipol has backed the 4.3 billion euro takeover bid BPER launched last month for smaller rival Popolare di Sondrio, saying the proposed merger would have a positive impact on the activities it has in common with the two lenders. ($1 = 0.9271 euros)
Reuters
07-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Pop Sondrio says BPER bid not agreed as Italy M&A frenzy prompts Unipol to hasten tie-up
MILAN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - BPER's ( opens new tab bid for Banca Popolare di Sondrio ( opens new tab was not previously agreed, a person close to the Italian bank said on Friday, after it became the latest takeover target in a series of bids rocking the industry. BPER, Italy's fourth-largest bank, unveiled the 4.3 billion euro ($4.5 billion) all-share buyout offer for smaller peer Popolare di Sondrio late on Thursday. A tie-up would bring together two banks whose main shareholder is Unipol , Italy's second-largest insurer which has a near 20% equity stake in each lender. The Pop Sondrio source said its board would meet in the coming days to make an initial assessment of BPER's offer. Unipol Chief Executive Carlo Cimbri has bet on commercial accords with banks to sell the insurer's products, buying stakes to secure the partnerships, and backing the expansion of BPER's branch footprint. He is now moving to defend Unipol's distribution network, given the sector's shake-up, one person with direct knowledge of his thinking said, speaking on condition of anonymity. BPER said that given the shareholding structure, the bid would give it control with as little as 35% of Pop Sondrio plus one share. BPER, based in the town of Modena famous for its automakers, including Ferrari, and its cured meat products as well as balsamic vinegar, jumped in size in 2020 by buying 600 branches in the Intesa Sanpaolo-UBI merger. It then swallowed up troubled Genoa-based rival Carige. BPER is offering 29 new shares for every 20 shares of BPSO shares tendered, a premium of 7.8% based on Thursday's closing prices, according to Reuters calculation. The latest unsolicited bid in Italian banking follows similar moves by UniCredit ( opens new tab on Banco BPM ( opens new tab and state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) ( opens new tab on Mediobanca ( opens new tab. Unsolicited bids are historically rare in global banking, making Italy the exception. The chain reaction was set in motion by Italy selling a stake in bailed-out MPS in November, which brought onboard as shareholders Banco BPM and two Italian investors with large stakes in Mediobanca and insurer Generali ( opens new tab. The prospect of an eventual tie-up between Banco BPM and MPS prompted UniCredit's swoop on BPM. That left MPS, which has always been seen as in need of a partner and had been looking at BPM, with no option but to bid for Mediobanca. Unipol's Cimbri had offered to strike an insurance deal with MPS and take a stake in the Tuscan lender, but Italy's conservative government did not follow up on an offer that came from a camp traditionally close to left-wing political forces. ($1 = 0.9639 euros)
Reuters
06-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Unipol-backed BPER joins Italy's M&A frenzy with $4.5 bln Pop Sondrio bid
MILAN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Italy's fourth-largest bank BPER ( opens new tab on Thursday joined in a raft of takeover bids rocking the country's financial sector, with a 4.3 billion euro ($4.46 billion) all-share bid for Banca Popolare di Sondrio ( opens new tab. BPER and Popolare di Sondrio (BPSO) have in common their main shareholder, insurer Unipol , which distributes its products through both banks. BPER said it would issue 29 new shares for every 20 shares of BPSO shares tendered, implying a premium of 2.77% on Thursday's closing price, according to Reuters calculations. Both BPER and BPSO shares gained over 4% on Thursday. BPER said the premium is of 6.6% based on Wednesday's closing levels. The combined company's net profit is expected to surpass 2 billion euros in 2027, BPER said adding that it expects the deal to close in the second half of 2025. BPER's market capitalisation of about 9.74 billion euros is more than double mid-sized lender BPSO's market value of 4.17 billion euros, according to LSEG data. Though Unipol boss Carlo Cimbri had previously said that a merger between BPER and BPSO would be "a mistake," the combination had been widely expected to take place at some point in the future. The bid comes as a number of unsolicited buyout offers are set to redesign Italy's banking landscape. Before Christmas, BPER's direct rival Banco BPM ( opens new tab launched a bid for asset manager Anima Holding ( opens new tab and took a stake in bailed-out Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( opens new tab, before becoming a takeover target for UniCredit ( opens new tab. Then earlier this year, state-backed Monte dei Paschi launched a hostile 13.3 billion euro all-share bid for prestigious rival Mediobanca ( opens new tab. Unsolicited offers are traditionally rare in the finance industry. But Intesa Sanpaolo ( opens new tab led the way back in 2020 by acquiring smaller rival UBI after a strenuous takeover battle. BPER reported full-year adjusted consolidated net profit of at 1.40 billion euros, the Modena-based bank said in a separate statement. ($1 = 0.9634 euros)
