Italy looks to sell up to 15% of Monte dei Paschi in share placement, sources say
Adds details from paragraph 5
MILAN, Oct 4 (Reuters) -Italy aims to sell up to around 15% of Monte dei Paschi di Siena BMPS.MI in an upcoming share placement, reducing the government's stake in the bailed-out bank to as low as 12%, two sources close to the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Italy currently holds 26.7% of Monte dei Paschi (MPS), the world's oldest bank still in business, and has pumped a total of 7 billion euros ($8 billion) into the lender, by taking it over in 2017 and shouldering the bulk of a make-or-break cash call in 2022.
On Thursday, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the Treasury aimed to carry out another market placement before the end of the year.
The two sources said the Treasury is looking to place a stake of around 10-15% in the bank with investors.
The Treasury, which has already cashed in nearly 1.6 billion euros by selling down its original 64% MPS stake, could raise up to 900 million euros from the latest sale.
European Union rules stipulate that state aid to banks can only be temporary, requiring Italy to eventually re-privatise MPS.
An attempt in 2021 to have UniCredit CRDI.MI take over MPS, and compensate the Milanese bank for any risks, collapsed when Unicredit CEO Andrea Orcel raised his multi-billion demands to Italy's Treasury at the eleventh hour.
Since then MPS has restructured under former UniCredit executive Luigi Lovaglio and favourable court rulings have allowed it to release money it had set aside against legal risks following years of mismanagement.
In October 2022 Lovaglio pulled off a crucial stock issue selling new shares at 2 euros each, and used the bulk of the money to fund voluntary staff redundancies.
MPS shares have more than doubled in price since then to 4.9 euros each.
($1 = 0.9126 euros)
Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan and Giuseppe Fonte in Rome; editing by Giulia Segreti and Susan Fenton
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
