Overview
- Intesa Sanpaolo lodged a formal offer on Monday valuing Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena at about €30–30.6 billion by offering 1.6 Intesa shares plus €1 cash for each MPS share.
- Banco BPM presented a competing proposal over the weekend that it calls a merger of equals and says the combined group would have a market value above €50 billion.
- Intesa announced plans to sell the MPS brand, roughly half the branches, much of the Siena headquarters and other assets to insurer Unipol for about €3–3.5 billion to head off antitrust objections.
- The bidders have different savings and cost plans: Intesa projects about €2.9 billion in pre-tax synergies and roughly €2.1 billion in integration costs to be realised by 2029, while Banco BPM forecasts about €1.1 billion in pre-tax synergies and a merged net profit near €6 billion.
- The next steps are a decision by MPS’s board and shareholders followed by regulatory review that will focus on asset carve-outs, local branch impacts and the fate of holdings such as Mediobanca’s stake in Generali.