Mediobanca pledges 4.9 billion euro shareholder reward to counter MPS bid

MILAN (Reuters) -Italy's Mediobanca said on Friday it would offer shareholders rewards worth 4.9 billion euros ($5.73 billion), mostly in cash, over three years to 2028 as it seeks to fend off a hostile bid from smaller rival Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).

The merchant bank reiterated in a statement that MPS' offer "lacks an industrial and financial rationale for Mediobanca shareholders and carries clear and significant execution risks."

After gaining regulatory approval from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, MPS is ready to launch its all-share bid for Mediobanca next month.

In an attempt to become too big for MPS to swallow, Mediobanca proposed in April to buy private bank Banca Generali. However, it was forced to delay a shareholder vote on the deal to September 25 to avoid a possible defeat, as investors opposed to the deal have recently increased their holdings.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Alvise Armellini)