27 January 2025

MILAN (Reuters) – Mediobanca's (OTC:) board will meet on Tuesday to discuss a bid for the Italian commercial bank by state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), a person close to the situation said.

On Friday, MPS joined the wave of consolidation sweeping the Italian banking sector with a €13.3 billion ($13.96 billion) all-share bid for Mediobanca, an offer welcomed by the Italian government but which baffled analysts and investors.

In a letter sent to employees on Saturday and seen by Reuters, Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel said the MPS offer had not been agreed with the bank and that the board would express its views with the aim of protecting the interests of all stakeholders, especially employees.

On Friday, a person close to the situation told Reuters that MPS's offer was not friendly, though not unexpected.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Mediobanca logo is pictured at Mediobanca headquarters in Milan, Italy, November 12, 2019. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo/File Photo

MPS is offering 23 of its own shares for every 10 Mediobanca shares tendered, representing a 5% premium to Thursday's closing price. However, MPS shares lost 7% on Friday, meaning the offer now includes a €1.2 billion discount to the market price.

($1 = 0.9530 euros)

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