By Mauro Orru
BPER Banca launched a bid of roughly 4.3 billion euros ($4.47 billion) to take over smaller rival Banca Popolare di Sondrio, the latest twist in a wave of consolidation sweeping through Italy's crowded banking market.
The lender said late Thursday that its all-share offer carried a price of 9.527 euros for each Banca Popolare di Sondrio share, representing a 6.6% premium based on Wednesday's closing price. Banca Popolare di Sondrio shares jumped more than 5% Friday, while BPER Banca shares slumped more than 8%.
The offer adds to a growing list of bids that are pervading the Italian banking system. Last month, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena made a $14 billion surprise bid for Mediobanca, which it rejected. Meanwhile, UniCredit unveiled a takeover bid for smaller rival Banco BPM, which also rebuffed the approach and is itself seeking to buy asset manager Anima Holding.
BPER Banca Chief Executive Gianni Franco Papa said a deal with Banca Popolare di Sondrio would create a more solid banking group with significant scale in terms of clients, geographic footprint and synergies.
BPER Banca serves more than 5 million clients through a network of more than 1,500 branches. The bank counted nearly 20,000 employees at the end of last year. A takeover of Banca Popolare di Sondrio would add more than 900,000 customers, nearly 400 branches and almost 4,000 employees.
A person close to Banca Popolare di Sondrio said the offer hadn't been previously agreed, adding that the board of directors would meet in the coming days to evaluate the offer.
A combination would create a lender with an expected net profit of more than 2 billion euros in 2027, BPER Banca said, with an expected return on tangible equity close to 15%. The bank expects to complete the deal in the second half of the year and fully integrate its smaller rival by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 07, 2025 07:02 ET (12:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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