Finance
Italy's MPS focused on Mediobanca deal, CEO says after UniCredit drops BPM bid
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 24, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 24, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
MPS focuses on Mediobanca acquisition after UniCredit exits BPM bid, with CEO Lovaglio eyeing future consolidation.
(Refiles to change reporting credits)
MILAN (Reuters) -Italy's Monte dei Paschi is focused on its takeover offer for Mediobanca, its chief executive said on Thursday, adding further deals would be something the state-backed bank could consider only in the future.
In a television interview with Class CNBC, Monte dei Paschi (MPS) CEO Luigi Lovaglio was asked about the implications for MPS of UniCredit ditching its buyout offer for Banco BPM.
Banco BPM acquired a stake in MPS in November, just before UniCredit's swoop. It has long been seen as the government's favourite merger partner for MPS.
UniCredit's withdrawal has revived speculation about a BPM-MPS tie-up becoming a possibility.
"We are focused on the Mediobanca deal," Lovaglio said when asked if he had spoken to Banco BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna after UniCredit's decision to abandon the bid.
Lovaglio reiterated his view that the combination with Mediobanca would give MPS a scale that would allow the Tuscan bank to take part in a second round of consolidation that Lovaglio sees taking place in a couple of years.
"Once we close this deal we'll have excess capital which one can use either for a deal or to give it back to shareholders, we'll assess it then," he said.
Lovaglio declined to say whether MPS could sweeten the bid when asked about a possible improvement and said the current price was adequate.
"The price offered is fair if you take into account the current valuation of the two companies and the fact that after the deal there will certainly be a major re-rating," Lovaglio said.
He expressed confidence that take-up of the bid would reach the targeted threshold of 66.7%, even though MPS set the minimum threshold at 35%, which it considers sufficient to control the rival.
Mediobanca this month renewed its opposition to the takeover offer, saying the price was "totally inadequate" and around a third lower than what the bank's board deemed fair.
(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Mark Potter)
Monte dei Paschi is currently focused on its takeover offer for Mediobanca, as stated by CEO Luigi Lovaglio.
UniCredit has withdrawn its buyout offer for Banco BPM, which has led to renewed speculation about a potential tie-up between Banco BPM and Monte dei Paschi.
Lovaglio believes the price offered for Mediobanca is fair, considering the current valuation of both companies and the expected re-rating post-deal.
MPS has set a minimum threshold of 35% for its bid, which it considers sufficient to control Mediobanca.
After closing the Mediobanca deal, MPS expects to have excess capital, which could be used for further deals or returned to shareholders.
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