Banco BPM board meeting to discuss UniCredit's bid
Meeting already on the agenda to discuss Orcel's offer
Banco BPM's board of directors is
scheduled to meet on Tuesday morning, ANSA learned on Monday.
The board meeting, which was already on the agenda, is expected
to discuss the surprise all-share bid launched by UniCredit on
Monday morning.
After the announcement, UniCredit shares fell 4.4%, along with
MPS (-2.3%) and Commerzbank (-5.8%) while BPM shares rose 3.1%.
Italy's lender on Monday launched a surprise 10 billion euro bid
for domestic rival Banco BPM, which CEO Andrea Orcel said would
take precedence over a potential move on Germany's Commerzbank .
"Our position in Commerzbank is an investment" which "has time
to mature", Orcel said to explain the operation.
The offer for Banco BPM comes during an impasse in UniCredit's
efforts to buy its German rival - an acquisition opposed by the
government in Berlin.
In September, UniCredit increased its stake in Commerzbank to
21% and filed a request to increase the holding to up to 29.9%.
Earlier that month, the Italian lender had acquired a 9% stake
in Commerzbank, including half from the German government.
Meanwhile, earlier this month Banco BPM made an offer for asset
manager Anima in a potential 1.6 billion euro deal and then
bought a 5% share in bailed-out rival Monte dei Paschi di Siena
(MPS).
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