How does Italian MPS from collapse to bidding commercial banks

(Repeat the story on January 24, the text has not changed)

At the end of 2022, MPS’s stock price rose more than doubled from 2 euros.

Government support, but expressed concerns about Generali-Natixis

MPS CEO of CEOs focusing on the trading industry

Since 2022, Mediobanca has become a choice, but the conditions are not suitable

Author: Valentina Za, Gianluca Semeraro and Mathieu Rosemain

Reuters Milan, January 24-Monte Dei Paschi (MPS) CEO Luigi Lovaglio arrived in Syena in early 2022. Five years later, the Ministry of Finance in Italy appointed him to reinvigo this world. The fate of the oldest banks has been several consecutive overnights since then. Rescue it. As early as October 2022, he completed the stock sales overnight. At that time, MPS’s seventh cash urging in the 14th year caused the last moment of panic in the underwriting bank. At that time, MPS was difficult to sell stocks at a price of 2 euros per share. This week, Lowario and his financial director Andrea Maffezzoni came out of the two overnight nights, the price of MPS stock trading was 7 euros. In the end, they eventually competitive competitions. Mediobanca, a long -standing investment bank in Italy, launched a full -time acquisition offer of 13.3 billion euros ($ 14 billion). Essence

From 2017 to 2022, the cash of more than 10 billion euros enables MPS to clean up its balance sheet in time, so that the bank can grasp the profit growth brought about by rising interest rates and take a integration train through the Italian industry.

MPS, which once threatened to spread throughout the industry, is bidding a bank that dominates the Italian financial sector for decades.

The 69 -year -old Lowalio seemed to realize his bold moves and tried to take a reconciliation tone on Friday.

He told analysts: “We don’t want to take any action that may weaken Mediobanca, a powerful organization.”

Analysts are worried that the “strange combination” of Mediobanca and MPS has only two important shareholders in common: the late Billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio’s holding company DELFIN Francesco GAETANO CALTAGIRONE.

In the past two years, as the Ministry of Finance has reduced its shareholding ratio from 68% to 11.7%, international funds have poured into MPS. This unexpected bid triggered selling, and MPS’s stock price closed down 7%.

A person involved in the transaction said that UBS and Morgan Chase consultants will start to explain the transaction to investors and eliminate people’s concerns about the transaction that may reflect the secret agenda of shareholders.

Delf and Caltagirone also holds the shares of the Italian insurance company General Geali. For many years, Alberto Nagel has been accused of over -reliance on the revenue of General GEDERALI’s shares held by Mediobanca. Delfen and Kalta Jelly opposed Zhongli Group’s asset management cooperation with the French Natixis Investment Managers.

They found allies in the government, and the government was worried that savings were transferred outside Italy.

At the same time, the government helps to establish the third -largest banking group in Italy to be more determined to be more firm in determination to compete with United Paul Bank and United Credit Bank.

In November, ROME sold MPS shares to BPM Bank, the third largest bank in Italy, and Delfin and Caltagirone Bank. At that time, it thought it was moving in the right direction.

But at the end of last year, Yuxin Bank unexpectedly acquired Banco BPM and frustrated the efforts of MPS and BPM with the help of Delfin and CaltagIrone.

Lowalio said on Friday that he had proposed to the Italian Economic Minister in December 2022 that Mediobanca’s merger choice as a MPS, and also plans to cooperate with his peers.

Since then, we all know that medium -sized competitors Banco BPM and BPER have been potential candidates for MPS.

It was only recently that Delfin and Caltaginal became the main investors in MPS that the Mediobanca was included in the list of potential transactions.

A person involved in the preparation of the bidding said that Mediobanca was “a sacred name” in the Italian financial community. Before having a chance, any cooperation ambitions naturally keep confidential.

Rome said on Friday that MPS supported Mediobanca. Two people familiar with the matter said that the merger of French Foreign Trade Bank (Natixis) and the General Bank may play a role in consolidating the government’s support for the plan.

However, the third person participating in the bidding said that the reason for Lovaglio for this transaction is purely industrial. It is based on the needs of finding partners for MPS and the complementary nature of the two companies.

“We can’t extricate ourselves,” a senior employee of a public security department, a public security department, told Reuters. “This transaction is perfect for our franchise.”

However, the two people familiar with the matter said that so far, Negel, CEO of Mediobanca, rejected a trial of dialogue with MPS and prepared to oppose the proposal.

Mediobanca has not commented on the acquisition.

($ 1 = 0.9541 Euros) (Valentina Za and Gianluca Semeraro reported in Milan; Mathieu Rosemain is in Paris; Jane Merriman, Tommy Regigior Wilkes, and Louise Heavens)