Monte dei Paschi Offers $13.9B Buyout for Mediobanca
Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the Italian lender which was bailed out in 2017, has launched a surprise buyout offer for Mediobanca. The all-share deal is valued at €13.3 billion ($13.9 billion).
MPS is offering 23 of its own shares for every 10 Mediobanca shares tendered, representing a 5% premium over Thursday's closing price. Mediobanca has a market value of €12.7 billion, while MPS is capitalized at €8.8 billion.
The buyout offer follows Italy's efforts to re-privatize MPS, which brought in Delfin and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone as shareholders in November. Delfin, the holding company of late billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, is the largest shareholder in Mediobanca with a 19.8% stake. Caltagirone owns 7.8%.
Delfin and Caltagirone are also large shareholders in insurer Generali.
MPS has undergone significant restructuring under CEO Luigi Lovaglio, attracting attention as a potential partner for other Italian banks. Italy, which has reduced its stake in MPS to 11.7%, has been exploring a potential tie-up with Banco BPM.
However, that plan was disrupted by UniCredit's buyout offer for Banco BPM late last year. UniCredit stated that it needed to participate in the consolidation process to remain competitive.