Monte dei Paschi Board Approves Simultaneous Bids for BPM and Generali's Banca Generali
Nashnova编辑部
Monte dei Paschi di Siena's board approved all-stock takeover bids for both Banco BPM and Banca Generali, creating a combined group worth roughly €70 billion — a direct counter to UniCredit's €36 billion hostile offer.
Why is MPS bidding for two banks at once?
CEO Luigi Lovaglio pitched a "two-front acquisition" — simultaneous all-stock offers for Banco BPM and Banca Generali.
This means → MPS is playing offense, not defense. Rather than wait to be swallowed by UniCredit, it aims to grow too large to be taken over affordably.
The combined group would be worth roughly €70 billion, dwarfing UniCredit's €36 billion bid — effectively doubling MPS's bargaining leverage.
What does each deal bring to the table?
Banca Generali → wealth management. Controlled by Italy's largest insurer Assicurazioni Generali, it would bring recurring fee income and reduce MPS's reliance on traditional lending.
Banco BPM → northern-Italy scale. The merger would strengthen MPS's deposit base and branch network across Italy's wealthiest regions.
In plain terms = one deal buys earnings quality, the other buys market size — both at once.
Why did the earlier BPM talks collapse?
MPS previously negotiated a friendly merger with Banco BPM, but talks broke down on July 31 after BPM's largest shareholder, France's Crédit Agricole, explicitly opposed the deal.
This means → the new plan bypasses the need for BPM management's consent. MPS will launch a direct all-stock tender offer instead.
Whether Crédit Agricole blocks this attempt too remains one of the biggest uncertainties around the deal.
What is UniCredit offering?
UniCredit launched an unsolicited cash-and-stock bid in June, including €3 billion in cash.
Lovaglio publicly called the offer "value-destructive," objecting in particular to UniCredit's plan to sell roughly half of MPS's branches to clear antitrust review.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said publicly she hoped MPS would not be "dismembered," though she stressed the government would not intervene directly.
Who holds the deciding votes?
MPS's two anchor shareholders — the Del Vecchio family's Delfin and construction magnate Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone — are also major shareholders of Assicurazioni Generali.
This reflects the unusual geometry of the deal: the same investors sit on both sides of the table, and their stance will shape the outcome.
Market reaction was split: MPS initially rose then fell as much as 1.1%; Banco BPM gained 1.4%; Banca Generali climbed 1.8% — investors favored the targets over the acquirer.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.