Intesa faces limited extra MPS branch sales for Italy deal approval
Italy's competition review of Intesa Sanpaolo's planned takeover of Monte dei Paschi di Siena is moving toward conditional clearance ahead of the bid's tender phase. The expected remedies appear narrower than some had anticipated, centering on additional branch disposals and governance safeguards tied to Generali holdings.
Highlights
- Italy's antitrust authority has broadly accepted Intesa Sanpaolo's remedies for its Monte dei Paschi di Siena acquisition, enabling potential deal approval before the Nov. 23 or 24 tender offer.
- Intesa needs to sell only a few dozen additional branches beyond those agreed with Unipol and must divest a 3% Generali stake, while retaining a 13.3% Generali stake from MPS and Mediobanca.
- Final conditions require Intesa-appointed Generali board members to be fully independent, limiting information-sharing and addressing competition and governance concerns.
Conditions outlined before tender phase
As reported by Reuters, citing la Repubblica, Italy's antitrust authority has broadly accepted the remedies proposed by Intesa Sanpaolo to address competition concerns linked to its planned acquisition of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and has sent its final assessment of the transaction to the parties.The report says this clears the path for formal approval subject to agreed conditions before Intesa opens the tender phase for its offer on Nov. 23 or 24. Under the terms described, Intesa needs to dispose of only "a few dozen more" branches in addition to those it has already agreed to sell to insurer Unipol.
La Repubblica also says the regulator has accepted Intesa's commitment to sell the 3% stake in Generali that it bought as a defensive move. At the same time, Intesa can keep in full the 13.3% Generali stake it would acquire through MPS and its subsidiary Mediobanca.
Competition and governance implications
Beyond branch divestments, the conditions reported focus on limiting potential information-sharing between the groups through governance rules. Board members appointed by Intesa to Generali's board must be fully independent to prevent exchanges of information, according to the report.MPS declines to comment in the report, while Intesa is not immediately reachable for comment. If confirmed, the antitrust outcome would remove a key hurdle for the transaction and narrow the remaining uncertainty ahead of the launch of the offer.
Our earlier article on India’s disinvestment programme explained that most proceeds since FY 2016 have come from market-based routes such as ETFs, public issues and buybacks, while strategic sales transferring management control have contributed only a small share. It also highlighted why the planned IDBI Bank stake sale to Fairfax stands out, potentially lifting the year’s receipts and improving the government’s track record on meeting disinvestment targets.
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