By Valentina Za
MILAN (Reuters) -A wave of M&A activity is sweeping through Italy’s banking industry, creating a complex web of deals between some of the major players.
Here is a summary of ongoing, or recently concluded, deals.
1. UNICREDIT’S OFFER FOR BANCO BPM
UniCredit on November 25 announced an all-share offer to buy Banco BPM.
With an exchange ratio of 0.166, UniCredit’s bid values BPM at about 14.4 billion euros ($16.35 billion), 800 million euro below its market value.
The tender period started on April 28. It was due to end on June 23, but UniCredit has secured a 30-day suspension after the government imposed conditions to clear it, which UniCredit says could be harmful. UniCredit has said it will challenge the government’s decision in court.
2. BANCO BPM’S BID FOR ANIMA HOLDING
Shortly before UniCredit’s takeover move, Banco BPM had bid to buy fund manager Anima Holding, a 1.8 billion euro acquisition it completed in April.
3. MONTE DEI PASCHI’S (MPS) OFFER FOR MEDIOBANCA
MPS in January shocked Italian finance with its all-share offer for Mediobanca, not long after the top two investors in the bid target became also MPS shareholders.
In April, MPS shareholders approved a share issue needed to finance the bid, which is currently at an 8.5% discount to Mediobanca’s market value.
The tender period should start in July after MPS receives European Central Bank clearance.
4. MEDIOBANCA’S OFFER FOR BANCA GENERALI
In an effort to thwart MPS’ takeover bid, Mediobanca on April 28 announced a 6.3 billion euro all-share offer to buy Banca Generali and make wealth management its main business.
Mediobanca has called a shareholder vote on June 16 on the deal, and it is hoping its investors will back the project as an alternative to the MPS deal.
Mediobanca will use as payment its 13% stake in insurer Generali, giving Banca Generali investors shares in its parent company. Generali owns 50.2% of the private bank.
Mediobanca has made its bid conditional on Generali striking a long-term partnership with the merged entity, and committing not to sell on the market for 12 months the treasury shares it would receive in the deal.
5. BPER’S OFFER FOR POPOLARE DI SONDRIO
BPER, Italy’s fourth-largest bank, in February announced a 4.3 billion euro all-share bid for its rival, based in Sondrio in northern Italy, saying the consolidation wave forced it to protect its position in the market.
BPER and Popolare Sondrio have a main shareholder in common, insurer Unipol, which distributes its products through both banks and has sponsored BPER’s growth over the years.
6. BANCA GENERALI’S ACQUISITION OF INTERMONTE
Banca Generali completed in January its 98.2 million euro purchase of broker Intermonte to strengthen its investment banking skills and better serve clients who are often small business owners with both wealth management and corporate finance advisory needs.
7. BANCA IFIS’ BID FOR ILLIMITY
Venice-based Ifis on May 19 launched a cash-and-share offer to buy illimity, the digital bank founded by former industry minister and veteran bank executive Corrado Passera.
Ifis, which specialises in recovering small unpaid loans and financing small businesses, in January said it would offer 14.14 euros in cash and a newly issued share for every 10 illimity shares tendered, valuing the rival at 298 million euros, or a 5.8% premium.
The board of illimity has deemed the price fair.
($1 = 0.8807 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za. Editing by Jane Merriman)
