World’s oldest bank at centre of £26BILLION bid battle
The world’s oldest bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) is at the centre of a takeover battle after rival Intesa Sanpaolo launched a £26billion bid.
Intesa’s offer came a day after another lender, Banco BPM, said it was eyeing a deal for MPS.
Carlo Messina, Intesa’s boss, dismissed that approach as a mere ‘love letter’ as opposed to his own firm’s concrete cash and shares approach.
Messina expressed confidence in winning support for his offer saying he has ‘very good relations’ with MPS’s major investors.
Historic: The entrance to Monte dei Paschi di Siena’s headquarters in Siena, Italy
If successful, the acquisition would rank among Italy’s biggest banking deals ever. It would create Europe’s second largest lender with a market value of £109billion, behind Spain’s Santander.
Intesa is already Italy’s top banking group while BPM ranks fourth.
The Intesa offer values MPS at a 12.5 per cent premium to its market value at close on Friday. Shares in MPS surged 13 per cent on Monday while Intesa fell 1 per cent.
Founded in 1472, Monte dei Paschi di Siena was bailed out by the Italian government in 2017 after buckling under mounting debt. It has been the subject of takeover speculation since the state completed its exit from the lender in 2024.
A wave of dealmaking saw MPS itself take over rival Mediobanca last year. Until now, Intesa has kept out of the activity, with Messina previously describing it as ‘the Wild West’.
To address competition issues, Intesa said yesterday that it had struck a deal with insurer Unipol to sell a banking business comprising 635 MPS branches – roughly half the total – and MPS’ central offices in Siena, if its bid is successful.
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