Italy's illimity says Ifis bid was not solicited, to press on with plans

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian digital bank illimity said on Friday a buyout offer launched this week by rival specialty lender Banca Ifis had come as a surprise, and would not alter its existing plans.

"It should be noted that the offer has not been solicited or previously agreed with illimity," it said in a statement.

Illimity, founded by veteran banker Corrado Passera with backing from former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond, said it would press on with preparing a new business plan and assess any strategic options that could create value for stakeholders.

Ifis on Wednesday made a 298 million-euro ($309 million) share-and-cash offer for illimity.

The bid proposal steps up the pace of consolidation in Italian banking, and reflects an increasing tendency toward unsolicited offers, which were traditionally rare in the finance industry.

Italy's No. 2 lender, UniCredit, has made a bid for smaller rival Banco BPM, which has rejected the approach as a way to thwart its own bid for fund manager Anima Holding.

(Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Matthew Lewis)