Luigi Lovaglio plays his trump card but his path remains uphill. At the end of a marathon meeting, which began at 9:30 this morning and concluded around 5:00 PM, the MPS board of directors gave the majority The green light has been given to the dual offer for Banco Bpm and Banca Generali. Also expected one super coupon for Monte dei Paschi shareholders, which could be financed using part of Generali's 13,2% stake.
These are, therefore, the moves devised by CEO Luigi Lovaglio and the bank's advisors UBS, Goldman Sachs, KBW, and Vitale, to resist Intesa's €30,6 billion offer and propose an alternative to Siena's shareholders.
The board of directors' approval was reportedly granted with nine votes out of thirteen. Abstaining were Paolo Boccardelli, Nicola Maione, Antonella Centra, elected on the board's list and close to Caltagirone, and Paola De Martini, representing Assogestioni. Corrado Passera, however, reportedly voted yes.
However, MPS is subject to the passivity rule, so each of these transactions will have to be approved by the extraordinary shareholders' meeting with a far from easy two-thirds majority. The position of Delfin, which last April voted in favor of Lovaglio's return to the helm of the Siena-based bank and which holds a 17,5% stake in Rocca Salimbeni, will be decisive. Caltagirone, which has been at odds with its CEO for months, has 10,2%. Followed by mef To 4,86% BlackRock to 4,66% e Bpm bank (who will not be able to vote) at 3,74%.
The numbers of the (possible) new mega bank
The marriage between Banco Bpm and Mps would create a banking giant of approximately 70 billion euros of capitalization (36 from Mps, 25 from Banco Bpm, almost 8 from Banca Generali). It would also be the second Italian bank by territorial presence, behind Intesa and ahead of Unicredit: the 1.400 branches in Piazza Meda would be joined by 1.252 branches in Siena. The inclusion of Banca Generali alongside Mediobanca would instead create a group leader in Italian savings management.
