(Reuters) -Italian lender Monte dei Paschi (MPS) is considering a potential deal for investment bank Mediobanca, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Mediobanca has a market value of about 12.63 billion euros ($13.16 billion), while state-backed MPS is valued at about 8.9 billion euros, according to LSEG data.
MPS is considering a move to acquire full or partial control of Mediobanca, the report said, adding that an announcement could come as soon as Friday.
Mediobanca may oppose the MPS approach and consider various countermoves, according to the report.
MPS and Mediobanca did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Any merger talks will further heat up consolidation in the Italian banking sector, which has seen multiple lenders making bids in recent months.
The Italian government sold a 15% stake in MPS in November last year, including a 5% stake to Banco BPM, saying that the re-privatisation of MPS should contribute to building a third large bank next to Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit.
The share sale raised the prospect of an eventual tie-up between MPS and Banco BPM. However, Banco BPM denied any merger talks and reiterated its standalone strategy.
The talks of a tie-up led UniCredit launch a surprise 10 billion euro bid for Banco BPM, saying the offer had been prompted by Italian banking consolidation heating up.
It also derailed the government’s plan to foster an eventual merger of BPM and MPS and hampered BPM’s own bid for fund manager Anima Holding.
Late Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio’s holding company Delfin recently raised its stake in MPS to 9.8%. Delfin is also the largest shareholder in Mediobanca with a nearly 20% stake, according to LSEG data.
($1 = 0.9599 euros)
(Reporting by Angela Christy and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
