BPER Banca secures 58.49% stake in Banca Popolare di Sondrio

ROME (Reuters) -BPER Banca has successfully closed its voluntary public tender and exchange offer for Banca Popolare di Sondrio, reaching 58.49% ownership, a stake that guarantees its full control, the company said on Friday

In February, BPER launched an all-share takeover bid for BPSO as dealmaking picked up in the Italian financial sector. Last week, the bank sweetened its offer by adding a cash component of 1 euro ($1.17) per BPSO share, valuing BPSO at 5.44 billion euros.

Last week, BPER chief Gianni Franco Papa said he was confident that the lender would go over a 50% take-up threshold in its ongoing takeover bid for Sondrio, in an interview with the MF newspaper.

Borsa Italiana data earlier in the day showed that take-up had reached 58.35% of Sondrio's share capital.

Papa called it a significant milestone that would strengthen BPER's position among Italy's top banking groups, with the emerging group aiming for a presence of more than 2,000 branches and 6 million customers, according to the statement.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones and Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru, editing by Andrea Mandala and Louise Heavens)