BPER CEO says Italy's merger wave prompts defensive bidding Pop Sondrio
By Andrea Mandala and Valentin
MILAN (Reuters) – Bper Banca's CEO said on Friday that its 4.3 billion euro ($4.5 billion) full-share acquisition bid for smaller companions Banca Popolare di Sondrio was a defensive move, This is caused by a series of merger proposals for the entire Italian banking industry.
Medium-sized Italian banks like BPER have long been seen as candidates for mergers. Previously, BPER had explored cooperation with Banco BPM, but they never reached an agreement. Banco BPM has now become the target of the large bank UniCret.
The Popolare di Sondrio board will meet on February 11 to consider bidding, neither asking nor agreeing.
BPER Chairman Fabio Cerchiai said the proposal was not hostile, while CEO Gianni Franco Papa said BPER plans to retain the Pop Sondrio brand and lay off employees only by voluntary early retirement.
“The current merger phase exacerbates the deal: we have to defend our competitive position on scale,” Dad said.
Shares of Italy's fourth-largest bank, BPER, fell 6%, and analysts say Pop Sondrio's share price has risen more than 6%, and is more valuable in terms of valuation multiples.
“Providing meaningful EPS on this partnership is not an easy task,” Jeffries said.
“However, the deal has strategic advantages, and in a fast sector integration environment, BPER gains risk to attractive regions and increases market share.”
The combined entity will have a 14% market share in Italy's wealthiest region Lombardy.
The cooperation will bring together two banks, whose main shareholder is Unipol, Italy's second largest insurance company, with each bank having nearly 20% stake in each lender.
Dad said Unipol has been consulted and will now evaluate the financial status of the transaction.
Unipol
Unipol CEO Carlo Cimbri bets to sell insurance company products with banks, buy shares to secure the partnership's commercial goods and support the expansion of the BPER branch.
Given the equity structure, the bid will provide BPER control, while Pop Sondrio and one share are only 35%.
Modena-based BPER is known for its automakers, including Ferrari, cured meat products and balsamic vinegar, purchasing 600 branches in 2020 through the Intesa Sanpaolo-ubi merger, in 2020 Jump high in the year. Then, it swallowed up the rivals of Genno competitors.
Reuters' calculations show that BPER offers 29 new shares per 20 shares of Pop Sondrio shares, a 7.8% premium based on Thursday's closing price.