Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone rises to 10% of Mediobanca and the battle is being prepared with the sound of shares in view of the assembly in Piazzetta Cuccia on 16 June during which it will try to block the takeover bid on General Bank which could deprive him of his object of desire: the Generals.
But the twists and turns in the bank risk are now the order of the day. And so while the CEO of Mps Louis Lovaglio, which in turn launched a takeover bid on Mediobanca, continues to reiterate that the two offers (that of Siena on Piazzetta Cuccia and that of the latter on Banca Generali) are not alternatives, something is also moving in the area around Piazza Gae Aulenti. After having request for suspension on golden power withdrawn and have cashed in The European Commission's green light for the offer on Banco Bpm, Unicredit He doesn't seem to have any intention of waiting for others to decide his fate. According to a rumor from Republic, in order to overcome possible obstacles to competition and unblock the merger, the bank would have proposed to the European DGComp, the authority that supervises competition in the banking sector, a package of "remedies" that includes the Sale of 200 branches, of which 90 in Verona and its surroundings, an operation which among other things would reduce deposits by approximately 10 billion.
In short, June could be the decisive month for the Italian banking game, in which many of the knots still tangled could begin to unravel.
Caltagirone's moves on Mediobanca
After the request to postpone the session, Caltagirone, which also owns 6,9% of Generali and 9,9% of Monte dei Paschi, on the last day available to deposit shares in view of the meeting in Piazzetta Cuccia which on 16 June will be called to give the green light to the offer on Banca Generali, rose to close to 10% of Mediobanca's capital from the previous 7,4%.
The aim is clear: to strengthen its position so that the meeting ends with a resounding rejection of the takeover bid on Banca Generali, thus keeping safe the 13% of Generali in Mediobanca's belly (the latter's offer on Banca Generali has as its counterpart precisely the Leone's share). The reason is soon said: in case of success of the offer that Siena has in turn launched on Piazzetta Cuccia (and that Caltagirone supports) that 13% would end up right in the hands of MPS which at that point would form a common front with Caltagirone, Delfin and, perhaps, Unicredit on Leone.
What is certain is that next June 16th we will witness a heated battle: Caltagirone, in addition to its 10%, seems to be able to count on theDelfin's support, which owns 19,8% of Mediobanca's capital. The total No vote for the Banca Generali operation is therefore around 30%, but it could count on some other support (Benetton? The pension funds?) despite the proxy advisors have sided in favor of the operation and their position will probably affect the vote of the big funds. Banca Mediolanum will instead convene its board of directors on June 11 to decide how to vote.
Mps, Lovaglio continues to reassure: "The two offers are not alternatives"
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the CEO of MPS Luigi Lovaglio returned to the takeover bid for Mediobanca, calling it “a market operation and not a power operation” and saying he was not worried about the proxy support for Mediobanca's takeover bid for Banca Generali: “The two operations are not alternatives. Whoever votes in favor will also be able to hand over the shares to us."
Our offer has a threshold of 66% but for the total use of the dta even 50% +1 is enough. We think that our ops will be successful and that we will have important adhesions", added the CEO of MPS speaking to SkyTg24.
Unicredit to DgComp: ready to sell 200 branches
And from Piazza Salimbeni we move to Piazza Gae Aulenti, Unicredit's headquarters at least until the new headquarters in Scalo Farini designed by the famous architectural studios Herzog & de Meuron is ready.
While in Italy he is carrying on a (difficult) negotiation with the government on the golden power, Unicredit is also moving beyond the borders. And in order to obtain the green light from Brussels for the offer on Banco Bpm, the bank is proposing a package of remedies to the European DGComp which provides for the sale of 200 branches concentrated mainly in Northern Italy, 90 in the Verona area alone. In doing so, the bank led by Andrea Orcel would comply with Italian laws on branches which provide, in fact, a maximum of 20% market share for each bank for each province. As he explains Republic, “this method could defuse Article 9 of the European Merger Regulation, to which the AGCM referred to, to take over the Unicredit case notified to Brussels at the end of April. If, in fact, the merger in question is between two banks based in Italy, Unicredit is considered a systemic bank and has 65% of its activities outside of Italy”.
The DgComp response will arrive by June 19th, but according to the Roman newspaper, at the moment the dialogue between the authority and Unicredit would be very constructive. Also for this reason, it cannot be excluded that Dgcomp decides to have its say also on the restrictions imposed by the government through the golden power. Or at least on two of them: the obligation for Unicredit to maintain the level of Btp in its portfolio unchanged and that of not reducing the ratio of loans/deposits practiced by Banco Bpm and Unicredit. Both, in fact, according to Article 21 of the EU regulation on concentrations, could be disproportionate with respect to the protection of national security.
The only requirement considered in line with EU regulations is the request for Sale of the branch in Russia, justified by reasons of international security, but even in this case the solution could soon arrive: increasingly insistent rumors report that three investment companies from the United Arab Emirates have contacted the Italian Ministry of Economy presenting a proposal to buy the Russian activities of Unicredit. An option well regarded by both Italy and Russia.
