Intesa Sanpaolo bid for MPS gains support from key shareholder in Italy

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Intesa Sanpaolo bid gains support

Highlights

Intesa Sanpaolo secures Delfin's commitment to tender its 17.6% MPS stake under the improved €35 billion, $39 billion offer.
Intesa raises its cash offer by €800 million, lifting the cash component by 25% to €3 billion, an overall 2.3% improvement on Friday's price.
Intesa will withdraw its bid if MPS shareholders approve the defence plan on October 29, with Delfin also pledging to reject that management-led strategy.

Bid terms and shareholder commitments

As reported by Reuters, Intesa says Delfin, the family holding company that owns 17.6% of MPS, has committed to tendering its stake under the bank's improved €35 billion, $39 billion, offer.

The pledge strengthens Intesa's position in its attempt to take over Monte dei Paschi di Siena, after the lender on Saturday added a further €800 million in cash for MPS shareholders if they reject the rival defence plan. The sweetener lifts the bid's cash component of €3 billion by 25%, although it amounts to an overall improvement of 2.3% based on Friday's closing price.

Intesa also says it will withdraw its bid if MPS shareholders approve the defence strategy at an October 29 meeting. That leaves investors with a clear choice between backing the improved offer or supporting the counter plan advanced by MPS management.

October vote shapes outcome for Italian banking

Intesa's pursuit of MPS marks the culmination of a hectic consolidation wave in Italian banking over the past two years. The transaction has also faced resistance from MPS Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio, who in August unveils a complex defence plan aimed at challenging the takeover.

Under Italian takeover rules, investors must authorise any defence strategy that could block a bid. Lovaglio recently says shareholders should approve his plan even if they intend to tender their shares to Intesa, arguing that an alternative scenario would keep pressure on the bidder and could extract better terms.

Intesa says Delfin, the financial vehicle of the Del Vecchio family, has also committed to rejecting Lovaglio's plan on October 29. Delfin controls EssilorLuxottica, the world's largest eyewear company.

In our earlier article, we covered China’s policy-driven consolidation of its banking sector, which saw a record 670 closures of mostly rural lenders in 2025 as authorities pushed for fewer, larger and better-capitalized banks. We noted that weaker profitability and higher non-performing loans at smaller institutions were key factors behind the overhaul, even as the risk of system-wide contagion was seen as limited.

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