MILAN (Reuters) -Italian state-backed bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) has secured 38.5% of rival Mediobanca, bourse data showed on Wednesday, exceeding the minimum ownership threshold targeted under its hostile bid.
Monte dei Paschi (MPS) hit its minimum take-up goal of 35% after adding a 750 million euro ($878 million) cash sweetener on Tuesday, lifting the value of its all-share bid above 16 billion euros.
The bid ends on September 8, and will reopen for a further week on September 16.
MPS’ bold move to take over one of the most revered names in Italian finance is one of a dozen takeover offers reshaping the country’s banking landscape.
Bailed-out MPS, which Italy rescued in 2017 as its demise threatened the entire sector, has returned to profit under CEO Luigi Lovaglio thanks to higher interest rates, drastic staff cuts and favourable court rulings that have allowed it to release funds it had set aside against damage claims.
It shocked Italy in January by bidding for Mediobanca after UniCredit derailed government plans to promote a tie-up between the Siena-based lender and rival Banco BPM. UniCredit’s bid for BPM has since collapsed.
Italy acquired 68% of MPS in the 2017 bailout, which was made necessary by an ill-advised acquisition on the eve of the global financial crisis and towering credit losses.
Rome has since cut its stake to just below 12%, eventually bringing on board as shareholders Italy’s Del Vecchio and Caltagirone families.
The two families are also the main investors in Mediobanca, owning collectively nearly 30%. They have supported the MPS bid, which Mediobanca has in vain tried to stop.
In the bid’s document it published in July, MPS said that securing at least 35% of Mediobanca’s capital would give it “de facto” control over the rival.
However, owning 50% plus one share is necessary to unlock tax benefits the Tuscan bank has been counting on.
(Reporting by Andrea Mandalà and Valentina Za, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Jan Harvey)
