MILAN (Reuters) – Mediobanca (OTC: Board of Directors) will meet on Tuesday to discuss a bid for the Italian merchant bank by state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena, a person close to the situation said.
On Friday, MPS joined the wave of consolidation sweeping Italian banking with a €13.3 billion ($13.96 billion) takeover bid for Mediobanca, which was welcomed by the Italian government, but not only by analysts and investors.
In a letter sent to employees on Saturday and seen by Reuters, Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel said that the representatives’ offer had not been agreed with the bank and that the board of directors was expressing its views, with the aim of protecting the interests of all stakeholders, especially employees.
On Friday, a person close to the situation told Reuters that the MPs’ offer was not friendly, though not unexpected.
MPS is offering 23 of its own shares for every 10 Mediobanca shares tendered, representing a 5% premium to Thursday’s closing price. However, MP shares lost 7% on Friday, meaning the offer now means a €1.2 billion discount to the market price.
($1 = 0.9530 euros)
