Mediobanco’s board will review MPS’s 13.3 billion euro bid on Tuesday, source says By Reuters
MILAN (Reuters) – The board of Mediobanco ( OTC: ) will meet on Tuesday to discuss a bid by state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) to buy the Italian merchant bank, a person close to the situation said.
MPS joined the wave of consolidation sweeping Italian banking on Friday with a 13.3 billion euro ($13.96 billion) all-share offer to buy Mediobanca, which was welcomed by the Italian government but puzzled analysts and investors.
In a letter sent to staff on Saturday, seen by Reuters, Mediobance CEO Alberto Nagel said the MPS offer had not been agreed with the bank and that the board would express 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 offer from MPS was not friendly, although it was not unexpected.
MPS is offering 23 of its own shares for every 10 Mediobanca shares in the tender, representing a 5% premium to Thursday’s closing price. However, MPS shares lost 7% on Friday, meaning the offer now represents a €1.2bn discount to the market price.
(1 dollar = 0.9530 euros)
