MPS, the board of directors approves the plan for the exchange offers on Banco Bpm and Banca Generali

The MPS board of directors has approved the plan submitted by the CEO, Luigi Lovaglio, to promote two separate exchange offers on Banco BPM and Banca Generali, in an attempt to build an industrial alternative to Intesa Sanpaolo's offer for Monte.

We learn this from financial sources.

The green light from the MPS board of directors to the double exchange offer on Banco BPM and Banca Generali came with the abstention of four of the five minority directors present on the board of directors.

It is reported in financial circles that Paolo Boccardelli, Nicola Maione, Antonella Centra and Paola De Martini, the first three elected on the board of directors' list and the last on that of Assogestioni, would have abstained, while the banker Corrado Passera would have supported the plan of the CEO, Luigi Lovaglio.

Banco Bpm and Banca Generali are on the stock exchange following the news of the approval by the MPS Board of Directors of two separate takeover bids for the two credit institutions. The move is aimed at resisting Intesa's 30.6 billion euro takeover bid for Siena.

On the Piazza Affari, Banco Bpm rose by 1.6%, Banca Generali by 1.4%. Mps weak (-0.4%), Intesa positive (+0.4%). Unipol slips (-2.9%) while Generali gains 0.2%.

MPS's offer for Banca Generali should have shares of the same Sienese bank as underlying, which would not instead use the stake in Generali as a counterpart to the offer. This is what we learn in financial circles.

The possible choice to use newly issued MPS securities will have the effect, in the event that the offer starts and Generali takes part in it, of making the Leone di Trieste an important shareholder of Monte, with a share that can be estimated at around 10% of Siena's capital on the basis of the current capitalization of MPS itself (35.9 billion) and of Banca Generali (7.9 billion), unless it is diluted in the event of a merger with Banco BPM.

The offer on Banca Generali was also submitted to the related parties committee of MPS, which is a shareholder of Leone with 13.3% of the capital.