Monte dei Paschi board approves dual exchange offers for Banco Bpm and Banca Generali

The board of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (Mps) has approved a plan by chief executive Luigi Lovaglio to launch two separate public exchange offers for Banco Bpm and Banca Generali, in a bid to build an industrial alternative to Intesa Sanpaolo's public tender and exchange offer (Opas) for the Siena-based bank.

Under Italian takeover rules, an Opas (offerta pubblica di acquisto e scambio) is a public bid combining cash and shares, while an Ops (offerta pubblica di scambio) is share-only. Intesa Sanpaolo's Opas is the bid for Mps; the two Ops now launched by Mps are its countermove against Banco Bpm and Banca Generali.

The decision came on Thursday, at the end of an extraordinary board meeting.

At stake were countermeasures to fend off Intesa Sanpaolo's Opas, worth around €30.5bn, through which the banking group is seeking to take control of Mps via an offer to its shareholders.

Lovaglio's response, submitted to the Rocca Salimbeni board, envisages two separate public exchange offers (Ops), paid entirely in Mps shares, for Banco Bpm and Banca Generali.

After about seven hours of talks, the board approved the plan with nine votes in favour and four abstentions. The aim is to boost Mps's scale and weight within Italy's banking system by building a larger group.

The deal could also reshape Banco Bpm's shareholder base: among its main investors is Crédit Agricole, which holds a significant stake. Mps's offer for Banco Bpm has not been agreed with the bank's management, adding a fresh twist to an already tense standoff between major shareholders. Banca Generali, controlled by Assicurazioni Generali, is also part of Mps's strategy, through a separate transaction.

Crédit Agricole declined to comment on the Mps board's decision to pursue an offer for Banco Bpm, it told the Ansa news agency. Banca Generali also declined to comment after the Mps board's go-ahead.

Salvini defends Mps and claims credit for its revival

Deputy prime minister and League leader Matteo Salvini weighed in on Thursday, stressing the need to protect "the history, autonomy and staff" of institutions such as Mps, "symbols of the industriousness of cities with centuries-old traditions."

"We are closely following the proposals for a future overhaul of the Italian banking system," Salvini said in a statement.

He claimed credit for the League in saving and reviving Mps. "We enthusiastically took part in the rescue of Monte dei Paschi, one of the new government's first measures, restoring lustre to a historic name that had become a symbol of mismanagement by the left in Tuscany. Seeing it return to centre stage in Italy's economy is a success of which, as the League, we can only be proud," he said.

Opposition accuses government of meddling in bank mergers

Italia Viva senator Ivan Scalfarotto on Thursday morning criticised the Meloni government's stance on the wave of banking mergers, calling it "absurd and inexplicable."

He accused the executive of intervening in both the UniCredit-Banco Bpm deal and Intesa Sanpaolo's Opas for Mps, urging it to stay neutral.

"We have reached the point of madness, whereby in just a few months the government has gone on the attack against both CEOs of the two most important banks in the country. We are not cheerleaders, we believe in the market: the numbers are what counts, let the best win," Scalfarotto said.

"We are not concerned about the future of Orcel, Messina, Lovaglio or Donner; what matters to us is that the government stays out of these games. We are calling for government neutrality, and yet once again Meloni's people are forcing their way into financial battles from which they should stay away," he added.

Milan's Piazza Affari was trading cautiously higher on Thursday, up 0.35%. Mps shares gained 1.05%, while Bpm edged up 0.21%. Banca Generali was in the spotlight, advancing 2.08%. Intesa Sanpaolo rose 0.90% and Generali added 0.61%. Unipol, which has an agreement with Intesa linked to the Opas for Mps, fell 1.97%.

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