Latest news with #MontePaschi
Mint
01-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Mediobanca CEO Says Governments Are Hampering Bank Consolidation
(Bloomberg) -- Mediobanca SpA Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel said that national governments are an obstacle to creating bigger banks in the European Union. '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. More stories like this are available on
Mint
16-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Monte Paschi Plans to Replace Mediobanca CEO, Lovaglio Says
(Bloomberg) -- Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio said he plans to replace his counterpart at Mediobanca SA, should he succeed in taking control of the larger rival. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, Lovaglio said he tried to call Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel but hasn't received an answer. Nagel is 'not interested in the deal,' Lovaglio said on Wednesday from London. 'So I think we have to look for a new CEO.' The comments underscore the tension between the two banks, with the offer period under way. Monte Paschi stunned Italy when it announced its plan in January, an audacious move for a lender that's still in the process of returning to full private ownership. Nagel has rejected the bid and in turn proposed a takeover of Banca Generali SpA, in what's been seen as a defensive move. Lovaglio has argued a combination with Mediobanca would allow Monte Paschi to benefit in areas such as asset gathering, private banking, investment banking and insurance. Both banks would keep their brands after a deal, he said on Wednesday. 'There is a strong industrial and financial rationale,' he said in the interview. 'We are rewarding our shareholders for the next 10 years, with 100% payout, and moreover, thanks to fiscal benefits, we will increase the capital by €500 million each year.' Lovaglio said he was confident that Mediobanca investors will tender more than 66% of the share capital during the offer period, which started July 14, but that he could achieve 'de facto' control of the rival with as little as 35%. 'The goal is to go above 66%,' he said. Monte Paschi is offering 25.33 new shares for every 10 in Mediobanca, valuing the target at around €14.6 billion ($17 billion) as of Tuesday, below Mediobanca's market capitalization of around €15.1 billion. The valuation suggests investors expect the bid to be raised. The offer carried a premium of about 5% when it was first unveiled. The deal is one of a series of overlapping M&A bids that are currently being negotiated and could reshape finance in the European Union's third-largest economy. The transaction is backed by the government in Rome, which still owns a stake in Monte Paschi and would like to build a third large banking group around the Tuscan lender. Monte Paschi's plan also has the support of the billionaire Del Vecchio family and construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the largest investors in Mediobanca. The two also own stakes in Monte Paschi and Assicurazioni Generali SpA. Both investors have been 'supportive from the very beginning,' Lovaglio said. Mediobanca said on Friday that their financial involvement in so many companies 'constitutes a potential misalignment of the interests of these shareholders with those of the rest of the shareholding structure.' Monte Paschi, considered to be the world's oldest bank still in operation, has only recently emerged from a deep restructuring. The bank was bailed out and later nationalized, following an ill-timed takeover just before the financial crisis. Under Lovaglio, who took over in 2022, Monte Paschi has seen a jump in profitability, allowing the lender to resume dividend payments after a 13-year hiatus and the government to sell down its stake. (Updates with comments from interview starting in sixth paragraph.) More stories like this are available on
Mint
11-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Mediobanca Reiterates Opposition to Monte Paschi Takeover Bid
(Bloomberg) -- Mediobanca SpA rejected once again a takeover by Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA saying the offer is too low and the deal is lacking rationale, ahead of the start of the offer period Monday. The bank said a combination between the two lenders would be 'unnatural, and highly value-destructive,' according to a statement issued after a board meeting Friday. The board of directors also reiterated that Monte Paschi offer is 'not fair'. The deal is part of a series of competing bids that are reshaping the finance landscape in Italy. Monte Paschi, which was bailed out and nationalized before returning to private ownership, stunned investors earlier this year with an all-share offer to acquire the larger rival. Mediobanca Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel already dismissed a potential deal as lacking industrial and financial rationale and destructive. Monte Paschi CEO Luigi Lovaglio is instead of the opinion that his bank would benefit from the combining efforts in asset gathering, private banking, investment banking and insurance. Mediobanca said Friday that a merger would results in about €460 million of lost synergies. One of Mediobanca's main objections relates to the value. Monte Paschi is offering 25.33 new shares for every 10 in Mediobanca, valuing the target at around €14.6 billion ($17 billion), below Mediobanca's market capitalization of around €15.2 billion. The valuation is suggesting investors expect the bid to be raised. The offer carried a premium of about 5% when it was first unveiled. Still, the deal has political backing as the government in Rome, which still owns a stake in Monte Paschi, would like to build a third large banking group around the Tuscan lender, able to compete with Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and UniCredit SpA. Monte Paschi has said it wants to get at least two thirds of Mediobanca's shares, though it may still decide to waive that condition and accept a commitment of at least 35%. Both lenders are part of a complicated web of dealmaking in Italian finance, where cross-holdings, alliances and sometimes conflicting interests mean that developments in one deal have repercussions for others. Monte Paschi's plan is also backed by the billionaire Del Vecchio family and construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the two largest investors in Mediobanca. The presence of the same shareholders – namely Del Vecchio' Delfin and Caltagirone – in Paschi, Mediobanca and Assicurazioni Generali SpA 'constitutes a potential misalignment of the interests of these shareholders with those of the rest of the shareholding structure,' Mediobanca said Friday. More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
11-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Mediobanca Reiterates Opposition to Monte Paschi Takeover Bid
Mediobanca SpA rejected once again a takeover by Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA saying the offer is too low and the deal is lacking rationale, ahead of the start of the offer period Monday. The bank said a combination between the two lenders would be 'unnatural, and highly value-destructive,' according to a statement issued after a board meeting Friday. The board of directors also reiterated that Monte Paschi offer is 'not fair'.
Reuters
02-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Monte dei Paschi bid for Mediobanca to run from July 14 after green lights
MILAN, July 2 (Reuters) - State-backed Italian bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( opens new tab said its bid for rival Mediobanca ( opens new tab would start on July 14 after the country's markets watchdog approved the offer document for investors. Monte dei Paschi also said it had received unconditional approval from Italy's antitrust authority for the deal. Monte dei Paschi emerged from years of restructuring, following a 2017 state bailout, and shocked Italy's financial world in January with a bid for the bigger rival. The deal would bring together Monte dei Paschi's commercial franchise with Mediobanca's branchless business focus on wealth management, corporate and investment banking and consumer finance. Mediobanca, one of the most revered names in Italian finance, has been fighting the takeover offer which it deems hostile. Monte dei Paschi last week secured European Central Bank approval for its bid, including under a scenario where it would own less than 50% of the rival's capital. That boosts the chances of success of its offer given that its top two shareholders, Italy's Del Vecchio and Caltagirone billionaire families, are also the top investors in Mediobanca with a combined 27% stake which they are expected to tender. Monte dei Paschi said the offer would run until Sept. 8, meaning Mediobanca shareholders have eight weeks to tender their shares. In an attempt to thwart the Monte dei Paschi takeover, Mediobanca has proposed acquiring Banca Generali ( opens new tab and focusing on wealth management. However, Mediobanca last month had to postpone to Sept. 25 a shareholder vote to approve the Banca Generali bid because it risked failing to secure sufficient backing after some key shareholders decided to abstain, and others who oppose the project increased their holdings ahead of the vote.
