UNICREDIT SPA said that the next steps will evaluate the persecution of Banco BPM SPA after an Italian court had put down some conditions for taking over the government while leaving others intact.
In a decision published on Saturday, the Lazio Administrative Court canceled two government claims and at the same time confirmed the requirement that Unicredit spends its Russian business and unchanged domestic investments in Banco BPMS of newly acquired asset Manager Anima Holding Spa. The managing director Andrea Orcel had previously said that such claims could hire his takeover plan.
UniCredit welcomed the decision as “clear proof that the way in which Golden Power was used was illegitimate, and refers to the process that enables the authorities to block or impose transactions with strategic assets.” UniCredit will now rate all relevant steps in good time. ”
Orcel stands in front of a narrow timeline, with the course of the offer period set for July 23. The CEO is expected to receive support from the European Union, which should blame the government in Rome and question the way in which it intervenes in the deal. A plan by the French competitor Credit Agricole SA, who announced the verdict shortly in court to increase his share of Banco BPM, made the matters further difficult.
Banco BPM’s shares rose by 2.4% on Monday at 9:55 a.m. in Milan, while Unicredit fell by 0.5%.
Unicredit presented his unsolicited all-shame offer for Banco BPM in November. They currently mean a price for Banco BPM of around € 14.6 billion (17 billion US dollars), while the bank has a market capitalization of € 15.2 billion from Friday. This indicates that the shareholders expect the larger lender to increase its offer of 0.166 newly issued shares for everyone in smaller rivals.
The deal annoyed the government in Rome and prompted Agricole to increase its share – the largest shareholder in Banco BPM – to better defend their interests in Italy. The French lender has commercial agreements with both Italian lenders and tries to defend his interest in his largest market outside of France.
Credit Agricole currently has 19.8% of the Banco BPM after increasing its share in the beginning of this year. On Friday, the European Central Bank applied for approval to increase its participation over 20%. It does not intend to “get or practice control”.
The court ruling was welcomed by all parties involved in the deal. Banco BPM said on Saturday that the result of the court confirms the legitimacy of the government’s conditions and asked Unicredit to clarify his intention on the ongoing offer. A government official said that the decision largely confirms the legitimacy and structure of the recipes.
UniCredit said that in addition to the “illegitimate use” of the golden power, the “often misleading” campaigns of Banco BPM to discredit BPM’s shareholders has been deprived of the possibility of improving its conditions if the process had been properly.
The pursuit of Unicredit according to Banco BPM is just one of several overlapping deals that are currently being completed under Italy’s banks. It made the offer when it became clear that the government in Rome wanted to build a large banking group around the Banca Monte dei Paschi di siena spa that was saved earlier, with Banco BPM being considered a potential candidate for a merger.
After Unicredit’s move, the government is now supporting a deal between Monte Paschi and Mediobanca Spa. The offer time for this takeover worth around € 15 billion begins on Monday. Mediobanca confirmed his opposition on Friday and said the offer was too low and there is no reason for the deal.
