Credit Agricole Rejects MPS Bid, Sees Banco BPM Merger with Its Unit as Key Move
Credit Agricole’s Position on Banco BPM and MPS Takeover Bid
Background of the MPS Takeover Bid
ROME, Sept 15 (Reuters) - France's Credit Agricole, the single biggest investor in Italian lender Banco BPM, is against an offer for BPM by rival bank Banca Monte dei Paschi (MPS), daily La Stampa reported on Tuesday.
Credit Agricole, which owns 29.3% of Banco BPM, sees the takeover bid MPS unveiled last month as unattractive and unlikely to deliver sufficient value for shareholders.
MPS Defence Strategy and Intesa Sanpaolo
The bid for Banco BPM is part of a two-pronged defence strategy MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio presented in August to fend off a takeover plan by Intesa Sanpaolo.
Credit Agricole’s Preferred Merger Option
Credit Agricole has expressed its position during a meeting in recent days with Lovaglio, La Stampa said, adding that the French bank is instead looking at the possible merger between its Credit Agricole Italia unit and Banco BPM.
Rejection of “Merger of Equals”
Credit Agricole had previously said that such a tie-up was the preferred option and had rejected the prospect of a "merger of equals" Banco BPM and MPS had been negotiating.
Collapse of Talks and New Bid Terms
When those talks collapsed, MPS unveiled its takeover bid on terms which MPS CEO Lovaglio has said are similar to those the two banks had previously been discussing.
Responses and Comments
MPS declined to comment. It was not immediately possible to reach Credit Agricole for comment.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8669 euros)
(Writing by Francesca Piscioneri; Editing by Valentina Za)
