Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena sells its subsidiary in Belgium for 42 million euro. The agreement was announced by the Sienese group and involves Banca Mps Belgio, the Belgian subsidiary with total assets of 1,5 billion euro, loans to customers of 0,8 billion euro, direct deposits of 1 billion euro and equity net value of 110 million euros as at 31 December 2017. The purchaser is a company owned by funds managed by Warburg Pincus.
The agreement is part of the commitments made by MPS with the European Commission as part of the 2017/2021 Restructuring Plan and is "another important step in the relaunch process of the Monte Paschi Group". The sale price is subject to an adjustment mechanism. "Mps's impact on Cet1 is not significant - specifies the bank - and has already been included in the projections of the Restructuring Plan".
Warburg Pincus is a private equity giant and manages over 45 billion dollars in assets, 11 of which are invested in companies operating in the financial services sector. WP believes that the Belgian company has strong potential and will work closely with the management - the note continues - to bring the business to a new phase of growth and transformation, continuing to develop operations towards customers. In the transaction MPS was assisted by Rothschild as financial advisor and by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as legal advisors
The sale is subject to the approval of the National Bank of Belgium and the European Central Bank.
The Banca Mps share loses 2,11% in Milan at 11:39 when the Ftse Mib loses 1,15% and the banks are under fire. The Ftse Italia Banks sector index lost 1,52%.
