Banco BPM has stopped pursuing a combination with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena after opposition from its largest shareholder, Cr\u00e9dit Agricole, undermined the effort. <\/p>\n
The French banking group, which owns 29.3% of Banco BPM’s share capital, said it did not see merit in combining the two Italian lenders and would rather pursue a transaction between Banco BPM and its own operations in Italy. <\/p>\n
Banco BPM board had resolved to end contacts with Monte dei Paschi on a possible merger because there had been no concrete progress since it first proposed discussions. <\/p>\n
Monte dei Paschi had acknowledged the stance taken by both BPM and Cr\u00e9dit Agricole and had agreed to close the preliminary exchanges, which it regarded as a necessary step before any formal negotiations. <\/p>\n
The bank would keep reviewing possible paths in the interests of shareholders, staff and customers. <\/p>\n
Last month, Intesa Sanpaolo launched an unsolicited \u20ac35bn approach<\/a> for Monte dei Paschi. <\/p>\n Just hours before Intesa revealed its bid in June, Banco BPM had invited Monte dei Paschi to open merger discussions. <\/p>\n Monte dei Paschi has described Intesa’s proposal as inadequate<\/a>, while stopping short of formally turning it down, and said it would examine every available alternative, including Banco BPM’s approach. <\/p>\n Italian media had in recent days fuelled expectations of a near-term announcement on a Banco BPM-Monte dei Paschi deal. <\/p>\n However, Cr\u00e9dit Agricole chief executive Olivier Gavalda rejected those reports as “completely false” and said it was difficult to identify value in a transaction between the two banks. <\/p>\n A person familiar with Monte dei Paschi’s defence planning told Reuters<\/a> that any alternative to Intesa’s proposal would need to deliver greater value for shareholders, with the \u20ac3bn cash element in Intesa’s offer serving as a reference point. <\/p>\n Monte dei Paschi was bailed out by the Italian state in 2017. <\/p>\n According to Bloomberg<\/a> citing La Stampa that Italy intends to sell its remaining holding in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena by the end of September, before Intesa Sanpaolo takeover attempt reaches a key stage. <\/p>\n The Finance Ministry still owns 4.9% of Monte dei Paschi and wants to remain neutral<\/a> so as not to suggest it is backing either side in the bid, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed ministry official. <\/p>\n