Mediobanca, the coup on Banca Generali takes away from Mps and Caltagirone the object of desire: the Lion of Trieste

The wing stroke of Albert Nagel, with the surprise launch of the totalitarian and voluntary Ops of Mediobanca su General Bank and the simultaneous sale of the 13,1% stake of Piazzetta Cuccia in Generali to the Lion of Philippe Donnet,completely changes the scenario not only of the game of risk but also of the no holds barred fight for the commanding positions in Italian financial capitalism. If it succeeds, Nagel's strategic move, in addition to its industrial objectives and the creation of a great Italian champion of wealth management, has above all a sensational effect: it takes away from the table and from the sights of Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, and with him of Mps, Delfin and Mef, the object of desire, namely Mediobanca's share in Generali, which would probably have allowed the Roman entrepreneur and his partners to conquer the Lion of Trieste through the takeover bid by MPS on Mediobanca. Now, even if Siena were to win the exchange offer on Mediobanca, it will not have Generali among its trophies, which, barring any unexpected developments, will remain the public company that is an absolute treasure of Italian finance but which will have to find a way to compensate for the loss of a profit machine like Banca Generali. It is too early to fully evaluate all the consequences of Nagel's move (and possibly countermoves), but there is no doubt that we are facing an earthquake in the battle to conquer the command posts at the top of Italian financial capitalism.