The offer launched last month by Intesa Sanpaolo on Monte dei Paschi is “transparent, clear” and "we'll see what happens." This was stated by the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, Carlo Messina, on the sidelines of the ABI meeting, commenting on the possibility of countermoves by Siena or Banco Bpm. The words of the number one of Ca' de Sass come in fact on the eve of the MPS board of directors which on Thursday 16 July should provide an initial assessment of both the Intesa maxi takeover bid and the proposal for a merger between equals of the Bank, with Piazza Meda having unofficially c on Tuesdayinterest confirmed for the Sienese bank from which a formal step is now awaited.
Messina: “The offer on MPS is fair”
Speaking to journalists, Intesa Sanpaolo's CEO defended the fairness of his offer. "I believe that from a valuation standpoint, ours is totally 'fair', If you look at the price earnings, MPS is comparable to that of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. There is no other company in Europe or in the world that has these levels of price earnings,” Messina underlined, according to whom the rating incorporates “a good reward” for the Sienese shareholders.
The manager then launched a warning about the economic limit of the offer: “Everyone can think they have the jewels and can sell them at the best price, but there is a price beyond which you don't go", he said, responding remotely to MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio, who stated that "Monte dei Paschi is a highly valuable asset for the country, and its potential is more than €30 billion." Messina finally reassured that, should the transaction go through, there would be "great respect for the local communities and the people" of the bank.
Anticipation is mounting for the MPS board meeting.
The wait is therefore rising for the board of Monte dei Paschi scheduled for Thursday, July 16. This long-scheduled meeting is expected to analyze the bank's financial performance before August 6, the day the quarterly results are released.
However, the market expects a first evaluation of the two operations launched last month by Banco BPM and, a few hours later, by Intesa Sanpaolo. On the one hand, a proposal for a marriage of equals put forward by the CEO of Piazza Meda, Giuseppe Castagna, which aims to create a group with a market capitalization of over €58 billion (nearly €35 billion for MPS and €23,5 billion for Banco). On the other, the mega-offer of €30,6 billion, or €10,9 per share, from Carlo Messina, which also includes €3 billion in cash, which shareholders may find hard to resist.
On paper there would be no history between the two, but Lovaglio – at least for the moment – avoids committing himself and seeks alternatives to Intesa. “We have the duty to evaluate every proposal and to see if there are better proposals in the interest of all shareholders,” said the Siena-based CEO last Saturday, recalling that Monte dei Paschi is currently worth 11 euros on the stock exchange (now 11,5 to be exact) and the capital increase in 2022 was carried out at 2 euros.
