Banca Generali Q1 profit beats forecast as it considers Mediobanca bid

MILAN (Reuters) -Italian asset manager Banca Generali's first-quarter net profit beat analysts' estimates as it began the process of evaluating a 6.6 billion euro ($7.43 billion) takeover bid from merchant bank Mediobanca.

Mediobanca said last month it planned to acquire Banca Generali, which is owned by Italy's top insurer Assicurazioni Generali, as it sought to fend off an unsolicited bid from smaller rival Banca Monte dei Paschi.

Banca Generali's board on Friday mandated CEO Gian Maria Mossa to analyse Mediobanca's offer and its implications for all stakeholders, the private bank said in a statement.

It appointed Deutsche Bank as financial adviser and the law firm PedersoliGattai as legal adviser.

Mediobanca has been hunting a wealth management target for years and had already considered a bid for Banca Generali in the past, but no transaction ever materialised.

"I have always said that basically from an industrial perspective the combination could make good sense as our impression is that the two businesses could be complementary," Mossa told analysts in a post-results call.

He added that "from a business perspective" it was "crucial to assess fundamental aspects like governance, business operating models, commercial offers and distribution issues".

"It's too early to express any opinion on synergies and on the rationale of the financial offer," he said. "This is a long journey, a very long journey."

Banca Generali reported a net profit of 110.3 million euros in the first quarter, beating analysts' consensus of 101.5 million euros provided by the bank.

It said the positive result, achieved despite strong market volatility and a sharp decline of equity indexes, reflected the solidity of its business.

"We remain focused on our priorities, namely protecting and enhancing the value of our clients' assets and investments," Mossa said in a statement.

($1 = 0.8890 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro in Milan, Philippe Leroy Beaulieu in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Gavin Jones)