MILAN (Reuters) -Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) plans to back the new share issue proposed by Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena to fund its hostile bid for rival Mediobanca, the sovereign wealth fund said.
NBIM, which manages assets of $1.7 trillion deriving from Norway’s oil and gas resources, on Saturday disclosed on its website how it will vote at Monte dei Paschi’s (MPS) shareholder meeting on April 17.
The Norwegian fund owns a 2.6% stake in MPS, a person with knowledge of the matter said. That compares with 2.34% at the end of 2024, when it also held 1.45% of Mediobanca, according to NBIM’s latest records.
MPS is still 11.7% owned by the Italian state, which rescued it in 2017 acquiring a 68% stake.
MPS unveiled in January plans to take over the northern peer to combine its own commercial network, where the two banks already partner in consumer finance, with Mediobanca’s wealth management and investment banking activities.
Mediobanca has said the bid risks destroying value for investors given how diverse the two banks are, despite reassurances from MPS it would preserve the target’s brand and manage it as a separate entity with its own CEO.
While a core of Italian shareholders is expected to support the project, next week’s vote hinges to a large extent on the stance of dozens of international funds that invested in MPS as the state cut its stake, making the outcome too close to call.
Separately CPP Investments, which manages Canadians’ pension savings, said on its website it would vote against the new share issue for the Mediobanca bid. As of last year’s general meeting, CPP Investments held around 0.7% of the Tuscan bank.
(Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan, editing by Terje Solsvik and Crispian Balmer)
