Intesa Sanpaolo’s improved €35 billion ($39 billion) takeover bid for Monte dei Paschi di Siena has secured the support of MPS’s largest shareholder, Delfin, according to Reuters.
Delfin, which owns a 17.6% stake in MPS, has committed to tendering its shares into Intesa’s cash-and-stock offer and voting against a defensive strategy proposed by MPS Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio.
The support represents an important development for Intesa because Delfin had previously been viewed as a key ally of Lovaglio.
MPS shareholders are scheduled to vote on October 29 on the bank’s defense strategy. Lovaglio needs support from two-thirds of shareholders for the plan to proceed.
Intesa recently increased the cash portion of its offer by another €800 million, raising the cash component by 25%. The enhancement increases the overall value of the bid by approximately 2.3% based on MPS’s October 2 closing price.
Under the revised terms, Intesa is offering €1.25 in cash plus 1.6 newly issued Intesa shares for each MPS share tendered.
Intesa has warned that it intends to withdraw its offer if MPS shareholders approve the defense strategy.
MPS has also been pursuing a plan to take Mediobanca private and merge the business into MPS. That proposal is also expected to go before shareholders on October 29.
Intesa has said it would retain approximately half of MPS’s branch network to address competition concerns while keeping MPS’s holdings in Mediobanca and Generali.
The proposed takeover comes amid a broader period of consolidation across Italy’s banking sector, with Intesa entering the contest for MPS after the lender had itself acquired control of Mediobanca and become a major shareholder in insurer Generali.
