How Monte dei Paschi went from near collapse to buying Mediobanca

MILAN (Reuters) -Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) has secured control of Mediobanca, with a 16 billion euro ($19 billion) share-and-cash offer.

MPS shocked Italian finance in January with the bold move that pitted a bailed-out lender which for a decade epitomised the country's banking woes against a former powerhouse that used to pull the strings of Italian capitalism.

Here is a timeline of key events in the recent history of MPS, which was founded in 1472.

NOVEMBER 2007 - MPS spends 9.9 billion euros in cash to buy Antonveneta from Santander, which had bought it only months earlier for 6.6 billion.

JANUARY 2008 - MPS funds the Antonveneta deal by issuing 5.95 billion euros in equity, 2.16 billion in junior debt and a 1.56 billion euro bridge loan.

MARCH 2009 - MPS sells 1.9 billion euros in special bonds to Italy's Treasury to shore up its finances.

JULY 2011 - MPS raises 2.15 billion euros in a rights issue ahead of European banking stress test results.

SEPTEMBER 2011 - The Bank of Italy provides 6 billion euros in emergency liquidity to MPS as the euro zone sovereign crisis escalates, pummelling the bank's large government bond holdings.

MARCH 2012 - MPS posts a 4.7 billion euro 2011 loss after goodwill writedowns on deals including Antonveneta.

JUNE 2012 - MPS asks Italy's Treasury to underwrite up to another 2 billion euros in special bonds.

OCTOBER 2012 - Shareholders approve a 1 billion euro share issue targeting new investors.

JUNE 2014 - MPS raises 5 billion euros in a rights issue and repays the state 3.1 billion euros.

OCTOBER 2014 - MPS emerges as the worst performer in Europe-wide banking stress tests.

JUNE 2015 - MPS raises 3 billion euros in a share issue and repays the remaining 1.1 billion euro state underwritten special bond.

JULY 2016 - MPS announces a new 5 billion euro rights issue and plans to offload 28 billion euros in bad loans.

DECEMBER 2016 - MPS turns to the state for help under a precautionary recapitalisation scheme after its cash call fails.

JULY 2017 - After the ECB declares MPS solvent, the EU Commission clears an 8.2 billion euro bailout which hands the state a 68% stake at a cost of 5.4 billion euros.

OCTOBER 2019 - MPS completes Europe's biggest bad loan securitisation deal.

JULY 2021 - UniCredit enters exclusive talks to buy "selected parts" of MPS, a day before European banking stress test results show the latter's capital would be wiped out in a slump.

OCTOBER 2021 - Talks with UniCredit collapse.

FEBRUARY 2022 - MPS names veteran UniCredit executive Luigi Lovaglio as CEO.

OCTOBER 2022 - MPS raises 2.5 billion euro in a cash call at 2 euros a share to fund 4,000 voluntary staff exits.

NOVEMBER 2023 - Italy cuts its MPS stake to 39.2% in a share placement that meets strong demand at a price of 2.92 euros.

MARCH 2024 - Investors pay 4.15 euros a share as the Treasury cuts its MPS stake to 26.7%.

MAY 2024 - MPS pays out dividends for the first time in 13 years.

NOVEMBER 2024 - The Treasury sells 15% of MPS at 5.792 euros a share, bringing onboard construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the heirs of late Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, mid-sized peer Banco BPM, and fund manager Anima Holding.

JANUARY 2025 - MPS launches an unsolicited buyout offer for Mediobanca, of which Caltagirone and Del Vecchio's heirs own 27%.

FEBRUARY 2025 - MPS reports a net profit of 1.95 billion euros for 2024, highlighting its recovery.

SEPTEMBER 2025 - After MPS adds a cash component to the all-share bid, the offer ends with investors having tendered 62% of Mediobanca's capital. It will reopen for a further week on September 16.

($1 = 0.8501 euros)

(Reporting by Valentina ZaEditing by Keith Weir)