MPS, the Mef sells 15% of the capital for 1.1 billion. 5% goes to BancoBpm, with Anima rising to 9%. In Caltagirone 3.5%

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After a long wait, the third part of the share that the Mef has in Montepaschi has reached the market. But the real surprise is that BancoBpm appears among the customers, a bank that will thus get its hands on Siena and mortgage, in one way or another, the future trends. Yesterday the Treasury put around 15% of MPS‘s capital up for sale through an Accelerated Book Acquisition, after initially exploring a 7% sale. The high demand, equal to more than double the initial amount, and the presence of a 5% premium compared to today’s market closing price, pushed the Mef to make the last offer on the market duplicate.

The surprise buyer was BancoBpm, which received a share of around 5% after an extraordinary board meeting held in the afternoon. This move is within the context of the work launched on Anima Sgr: in the last few days the bank led by Giuseppe Castagna launched a takeover bid for the savings management company that has a significant distribution agreement in place with MPS. So the aim is to lock in such deals. The operation “is consistent with the strategy to strengthen the group’s production factories”, explained Piazza Meda in a note. MPS is indeed the “main distributor” of Anima’s products, after Banco Bpm, and is therefore a “strategic” partner for the future growth of Anima and its subsidiaries. In addition, from Castagna comes “appreciation” for the “results and progress” obtained by the team founded by CEO Luigi Lovaglio and president Nicola Maione in recent years. However, the note clarifies, “Bpm Bank does not intend to submit requests for approval to the competent authorities to exceed the 10 percent participation rate”. At 5%, however, BancoBpm will add another 4% once the takeover bid for Anima is decided: in fact the Sgr has bought around 3 percent as part of the sale of 15 % of Mef.

The Caltagirone group also joins in, taking over a 3.5 percent stake in MPS.

An indication of the possible link between the sale of the MPS sector and Piazza Meda had already appeared in the afternoon, when the choice of consultant made by the MEF was revealed: the accelerated sale operation saw Akros Bank, BancoBPM’s merchant bank, as the same Global. Sales Coordinator and Bookstore.

With this move, the Government drops from the current 26.9% to 11.7%, thus respecting the commitments set by Brussels, which expected a reduction below the 20 percent quota by the end of the year. The Treasury sold the shares at 5.792 euros each, for a total value of around 1.1 billion euros. And in doing this, he is taking advantage of the excellent performance of the stock, which has risen 71% since the beginning of the year, to raise money. The ABB relates to 88,178,280 shares: at today’s closing prices, equal to 5.52 euros, the money for the State stands at 1.1 billion euros, an amount that brings it to about 2.6 billion of the State’s income since the beginning of the disconnection that began in November. 2023.