These are intense days in the offices of Consob, engaged in dialogue with Intesa Sanpaolo and MPS before the trio of crossed offers – that of Ca' de Sass on Monte and those of Monte on Banco Bpm and Banca Generali – come to the heart of the matter.
Consob's request for clarification
Last August 26th, with a letter made public by The print, the Markets Authority has sent a letter to the top management of Intesa Sanpaolo to request a series of clarifications on the possible consequences that the two takeover bids launched by Monte dei Paschi for Banca Generali and Banco BPM could have on Intesa's takeover bid.
Consob essentially asks what decisions the Milanese bank might make if the MPS meeting scheduled for October 29th approves the two takeover bids for Banco BPM and Banca Generali with a two-thirds majority of the capital present. The issue is that of incompatibility between the different operations on the table. If MPS shareholders were to approve the two defensive takeover bids, Siena would find itself engaged in a project that would inevitably clash with the offer launched by Intesa. What will CEO Carlo Messina do at that point? He could decide to modify or even revoke the offer?
Intesa: "No slowdown on the takeover bid"
Intesa's official response is expected by September 4th, but sources working on the dossier speak of "physiological" discussions, "marked by maximum transparency and collaboration" and which, above all, "will not slow down the ongoing process" of the takeover bid for MPS. A response is scheduled for September 10th. the Intesa Sanpaolo meeting called to approve the capital increase linked to the takeover bid.
The same sources underline that Intesa "will respond to the clarifications requested in order to define the approval procedure of the offer document as soon as possible, within the scheduled timeframe". But in any case, the takeover bid of the bank led by Carlo Messina "could proceed in a regular manner and without any interference from the two takeover bids announced by MPS".
The latter, the sources indicate, "will not be able to produce any effect in the absence of the authorization of the MPS assembly" in light of the passivity rule and "it cannot be excluded" that they are the ones who "suffer slowdowns and suspensions, taking into account the numerous critical authorization profiles and the additional elements reported in the complaints submitted by Intesa Sanpaolo and consumer associations to the authority." The reference in this last case is to the two complaints submitted by Assoutenti and Adusbef.
Immediate response from Ps, which in turn is engaged in discussions with Consob on the double offer launched on Banco Bpm and Banca Generali and which however displays calm, maintaining that "everything is proceeding on schedule".
Tuscany President Giani: "The Ministry of Economy and Finance should leverage its stake in MPS."
Meanwhile, the political debate over the game of risk continues. In a speech at the extraordinary city council meeting underway in Siena, dedicated specifically to the Intesa Sanpaolo takeover bid, the president of the Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani asked the Ministry of Economy, which still holds 4,8% of MPS, to to make his shareholding count at the Rocca Salimbeni assembly at the end of October for defend the bank's identity Siena and maintaining its headquarters in Siena. "We all want an MPS with an unchanged identity, with guaranteed employment, with this management team, with its headquarters in Siena and able to operate more like a bank than a finance company, and to develop its business in the country's best interest: Italy needs a reality like MPSGiani emphasized that the unity of purpose among Tuscan local institutions is equal to that which was exercised five years ago when the sale to Unicredit was thwarted despite the "very strong pressure" from the former Director General of the Treasury, Rivera, to sell it to the bank led by Orcel.
