After the fiery Sunday that made the Italian banking game explode again, with the proposed merger between Banco Bpm and Mps and the takeover bid launched a few hours later by Intesa Sanpaolo At the Tuscan bank, the protagonists of the second phase appeared before the microphones to explain the rationale behind their moves. The first to speak was Intesa's CEO, Carlo Messina, followed by Carlo Cimbri, number one of Unipol who, if the offer is successful, will acquire 635 branches of Monte dei Paschi and transfer them to Bper, of which he is the first partner.
Cimbri: "Banco Bpm? A desperate lover."
And if Messina, in his conference call with analysts, described the proposed merger between Banco Bpm and MPS as “a love letter”, Unipol CEO Carlo Cimbri defined the Bank "a desperate lover" with “little chance of success”.
The manager denied the involvement in the operation of the former number one of Mediobanca, Alberto Nagel, confirming that the Intesa-Unipol-Bper deal had already been planned “for some time,” while, according to him, the board meeting convened on Sunday from Piazza Meda represented “an attempt to anticipate the one already scheduled for this evening” by Unipol and Intesa.
Cimbri: "Post-offer, MPS-BPER will own over 40%, but we won't launch a takeover bid."
Following the operation on MPS, Cimbri then explained, Unipol “will further strengthen its position in Bper. When we carry out the merger, we will significantly increase our stake in Bper" which already today, due to the effect of derivatives, "is at 29,9%". Following the merger of MPS and Bper, the stake will further increase "by approximately 10% and so we will go beyond 40%". "We do not intend to make a takeover bid. "Because we will propose a merger, and if the merger is approved with the consent of the shareholders, it will be exempt from the takeover bid," he then clarified, also ruling out the possibility of creating a single large group together with Intesa Sanpaolo and Generali. Cimbri closed the door: "We won't get involved, we are traditionalists."
Speaking instead of the new entity, the future bank, which will take the name of Monte dei Paschi"It will be much larger than the current one," and therefore, it's not a story that's coming to an end but rather one that will offer opportunities. "As long as the bank is owned by Unipol, we don't see any particular employment issues; we'll take it as it is," reassured the Unipol president, speaking about the future of MPS employees. "A different matter," he added, "is when a possible merger with BPER will have to be organized," but "there won't be any traumatic actions, even if it's too early to talk about that today."
Cimbri: "We will guarantee the same market-value dividend as today."
With Intesa's MPS deal and our project, "we will guarantee the shareholders who follow and join us the same dividend that existing shareholders received at current market values. From then on, we are confident we can offer our shareholders even greater satisfaction than the group currently enjoys, both those of Unipol and BPER," Cimbri continued.
Cimbri: "The agreement at Generali is a guarantee for Italian savings."
Intesa Sanpaolo's entry into Generali represents "a guarantee element for the savings of Italians and I think it's an important thing", Cimbri said to those who asked him for a comment on the Intesa Sanpaolo operation regarding the Lion of Trieste, underlining that the one agreed with Ca'de Sass is "an operation carried out by entirely Italian entities that enjoy financial and governance stability thanks to Italian core shareholders“. “
“We have great respect for the institutions. Even for the government, not just the Ministry of Economy and Finance, but “we are driven by the private interests of our shareholders, convinced that this is operation is useful for the financial system Italian and, therefore, we are convinced that those who have the responsibility of governing the country can view it with confidence", said the president of Unipol after a question about possible discussions with the government on the MPS operation. In the meantime, the Ministry of Economy and Finance limited itself to "taking note of the initiatives on MPS of which he was informed, which recognize the valorization of the bank raised from a pre-bankruptcy position".
Regarding the golden power, while specifying that the question should be addressed to Intesa Sanpaolo (as it is the entity launching the takeover bid for Rocca Salimbeni), Cimbri explained that he has no concerns about it.
Cimbri: "We'll meet with Lovaglio."
“I haven't had the chance to meet and talk to Luigi yet, but I intend to do so in person soon and, whatever he decides to do, I will have the pleasure of talking to him", said Cimbri, during a press conference, answering those who asked him about the future of CEO Luigi Lovaglio. It's too early to give an answer on the assets now.", he added.
After Lovaglio, Cimbri also praised the number one of Bper: “I much respect for Gianni Papa, who is doing an excellent job at Bper, in line with the mandate entrusted to him.” As for a possible future role for former Mediobanca manager Alberto Nagel in the new MPS-Bper merger, Cimbri cut short: “I absolutely rule that out,” he replied.
