Monte dei Paschi plans to take full control and delist Mediobanca

Monte dei Paschi's Acquisition Plans

MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) will take full control of Mediobanca and delist it while preserving its brand, ending weeks of uncertainty over the future of the merchant bank.

Background on Mediobanca

MPS, which was bailed out by the state in 2017 and reprivatised in 2023-2024, last year acquired 86% of Mediobanca, raising question marks over whether it made sense to leave Mediobanca listed with such reduced floating capital.

Board Decisions and Stake Acquisition

The plans had created division within the company, with directors led by representatives of investor Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone opposing full integration of Mediobanca.

Future Strategic Plans

In presenting full-year results last week, MPS Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio said the decision whether to delist Mediobanca was pending but MPS was working to maximise savings from the tie-up. 

MPS said on Tuesday that the board had decided to proceed with the delisting, without clarifying how the bank will acquire the 14% stake it does not already own.

It will then merge Mediobanca into the group and set up an unlisted entity to house its private and investment banking activities under the Mediobanca brand.

The new entity will also hold the 13% stake that makes Mediobanca the largest investor in Italian insurer Generali.

MPS is due to unveil a strategic plan for the combined group on February 27. 

(Reporting by Valentina ZaEditing by David Goodman)