On the day Mediobanca received The green light from the ECB in the takeover bid on Banca Generali, the number of subscriptions to the other major offer, the one launched by the Monte dei Paschi on Piazzetta Cuccia. And the credit for this new growth (after that already recorded around mid-August) should once again go to Dolphin which would have contributed a further, significant, package of Mediobanca shares to the takeover bid of the Sienese bank.
MPS-Mediobanca: 19,4% membership thanks to Delfin
Figures in hand, the shares contributed to the MPS offer on Mediobanca have gone from 13,4748% to the current 19,4168%. This is what Consob has announced. In terms of membership, approximately 1,000 people were registered in Monday's session. 49,51 million shares.
Although there have been no official communications yet, all signs point to Delfin. It would have been precisely the holding company that refers to the Del Vecchio family to hand over a portion of its Mediobanca shares to MPS's takeover bid for the Milanese bank, following the move made around mid-August. Last week, Delfin, which overall holds around 20% of Mediobanca, had already been the main participant in the 13,4% that suddenly emerged among the members of the Rocca Salimbeni takeover bid.
A few days fromMediobanca meeting Called to approve the offer launched by Piazzetta Cuccia for Banca Generali – the approval of the shareholders' meeting is necessary given that the Milanese bank is subject to the passivity rule – Francesco Milleri therefore sends the market a clear message: Delfin fully supports MPS's offer on Piazzetta Cuccia, while the holding company's abstention (which is equivalent to a vote against) on the Mediobanca-Banca Generali takeover bid now seems a foregone conclusion.
MPS's objective, between now and September 8th, the day the offer will close, is to reach 66,7% of the memberships, although the minimum threshold has been set at 35%. This threshold is considered affordable, considering that Caltagirone, who also holds approximately 10% of Mediobanca, has not yet contributed its shares to the offer. Adding Delfin's stake to Caltagirone's, the total comes to 30%. At that point, the remaining 5% could come from pension funds and, perhaps, Unicredit (Mediobanca's 1,9%). But first, August 21st must be overcome, the day of the Piazzetta Cuccia shareholders' meeting, which could reshuffle the cards.
