By Adam Whittaker and Pierre Bertrand

Credit Agricole said it received authorization from the European Central Bank to increase its stake in Italy's Banco BPM as bigger rival UniCredit prepares to start its offer later this month.

BPM has landed on the front line of a dealmaking spree to consolidate European lending, which has been particularly vigorous in Italy's crowded banking sector.

BPM, Italy's third-largest bank by assets, became the target of an unsolicited $10 billion-plus takeover bid from UniCredit and is pursuing its own acquisition of asset manager Anima Holding. Meanwhile, Credit Agricole--BPM's top shareholder--is increasing its stake with no plans to launch an offer for full control.

Credit Agricole said Wednesday that it bought financial contracts amounting to a 9.9% position in BPM, which come on top of an existing 9.9% stake. The French bank intends to gain all BPM shares underlying its derivatives position and will hold a 19.8% stake as a result.

The derivatives were purchased during last year's fourth quarter and the first three months of 2025, Credit Agricole said. The French bank said in December that it had entered into financial instruments relating to a 5.2% stake in BPM in addition to the 9.9% stake.

The disclosure came as Credit Agricole said the ECB authorized it to cross the 10% threshold in BPM's share capital and to hold a stake of up to 19.9%.

Separately, UniCredit said its offer to buy BPM shares would kick off on April 28 and run through to June 23. UniCredit set out the timings of its tender period after it received the final green light from Italy's securities-market regulator Consob, which approved its offer document.

In November, UniCredit--Italy's second-largest bank by assets--made an all-share takeover bid for BPM, which rebuffed the offer saying it undervalued the bank.

The move was part of a broader consolidation push among European banks that picked up over the past year.

In Italy, Monte dei Paschi launched a near-$14 billion offer to buy counterpart Mediobanca in January, while BPER Banca launched a bid of roughly $4.5 billion to take over smaller rival Banca Popolare di Sondrio.

Spain's BBVA is pursuing a hostile takeover of peer Banco de Sabadell, while UniCredit built a stake in Germany's Commerzbank and signaled its interest in a deeper tie-up.

Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com and to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 02, 2025 04:04 ET (08:04 GMT)

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