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Reuters
13 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Italian lender BPER boosts Pop Sondrio bid to $6.39 billion
July 3 (Reuters) - Italian lender BPER ( opens new tab has increased its bid for smaller rival Popolare di Sondrio ( opens new tab to 5.44 billion euros ($6.39 billion), the bank said on Thursday, heating up the race in the country's financial sector that has seen a flurry of deals and offers. The bid represents a premium of 3% based on Popolare di Sondrio (BPSO) shares' last closing price, valuing the bank at 5.44 billion euros, according to Reuters' calculation. The revised offer includes 1.450 newly issued BPER shares and an additional cash consideration of 1.00 euro per BP Sondrio share. The bid comes just a day after Italy's antitrust authority, AGCM, conditionally approved BPER's deal for BPSO, stating that BPER is required to sell six branches, which includes 5 of BPER and 1 of BP Sondrio, within 10 months. BPER and BPSO have in common their main shareholder, insurer Unipol , which distributes its products through both banks. Unipol agreed to BPER's bid last week. In February, BPER joined in a raft of takeover bids rocking the country's financial sector, with an initial offer of 4.3 billion euros for all BPSO shares. BPER's market capitalisation of about 10.9 billion euros is more than double mid-sized lender BPSO's market value of 5.32 billion euros, according to LSEG data. The increased offer from Italy's fourth-largest bank comes just weeks after BPER Chief Executive Gianni Franco Papa said that the bank would stick to its current bid. Italy's banking sector has in the last year witnessed a wave of bids and offers, including UniCredit's ( opens new tab all-share offer for smaller peer Banco BPM ( opens new tab, creating a complex web of deals between some of its biggest players. ($1 = 0.8511 euros)
Reuters
07-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
New Italy bank M&A may yet be more than a sideshow
LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Another day, another chunky Italian bank merger. On the face of it, Thursday's decision by $9 billion BPER ( opens new tab to lob in a $4.5 billion all-share bid, opens new tab for domestic peer Banca Popolare di Sondrio ( opens new tab (BPSO) merely represents the latest iteration of a wider saga in which other deals – like UniCredit's ( opens new tab 10 billion euro swoop for Banco BPM ( opens new tab and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena's ( opens new tab (MPS) 13 billion euro pitch for Mediobanca ( opens new tab – are more eye-catching. Yet BPER Chief Executive Gianni Franco Papa's gambit also inserts him in the conversation should these other deals unravel. The three Italian bank M&A situations share certain characteristics. UniCredit boss Andrea Orcel gave BPM shareholders only a 0.5% premium, and MPS offered a 5% uplift. Now BPER is proposing a mere 6.6% bump to its target's investors relative to its share price on Wednesday. The flipside in each case is the chance to share in the chunky synergies you'd expect in a domestic merger. BPER's 190 million euros of cost savings should be worth 1.3 billion euros taxed and capitalised, and Jefferies analysts see the targeted level as conservative. The deals have another thing in common: minority shareholders in the acquirers don't seem to like them. UniCredit shares fell after Orcel announced his pitch for BPM in November. MPS shares are off so much since the unveiling of its deal last month that Mediobanca's small premium has now reversed to a tangible discount. Meanwhile, BPER shares fell 8% on Friday morning. BPER investors' gripes may be because the bank trades on a lower multiple than BPSO. But strategically, the tie-up makes more sense than combining MPS with Mediobanca. It lets BPER expand in BPSO's northern Italian market, and become Italy's third biggest lender. As things stand, the most likely scenario is that all these deals go through. The presence of big investors like Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone on both Mediobanca and MPS share registers, plus the apparent support of the Italian government, may be enough. The same goes for BPM, where Orcel could sweeten his bid with cash. BPER and BPSO will probably follow suit assuming Italian insurer Unipol, which has about 20% of each, gives the nod. That said, Papa's decision to expand now may yet have a second benefit. If Mediobanca investors find a way to stop the deal happening, or if Orcel is too busy trying to buy Commerzbank ( opens new tab, MPS or BPM might come loose. A newly enlarged BPER might be well placed to bulk up further. Follow @gfhay, opens new tab on X CONTEXT NEWS Italy's fourth-largest bank BPER on February 6 launched a 4.3 billion euro ($4.46 billion) all-share bid for Banca Popolare di Sondrio (BPSO). BPER said it would issue 29 new shares for every 20 shares of BPSO tendered, implying a premium of 6.6% based on its closing levels on February 5. BPER and BPSO have in common their main shareholder, insurer Unipol, which distributes its products through both banks. BPER said it aimed to secure at least 35% of BPSO's capital plus one share in order to exert control over the rival. BPSO shares were trading at 9.75 euros on the morning of February 7, up 5.2%. BPER shares were trading at 6.4 euros, down 7%. For more insights like these, click here, opens new tab to try Breakingviews for free.
