Monte dei Paschi shares fall 6% after lender launches surprise 13-billion-euro bid for Mediobanca

cnbc.com:

Italy's bailed-out Monte dei Paschi di Siena on Friday launched a 13.3 billion euro ($13.95 billion) all-share takeover offer for larger domestic peer Mediobanca.

Shares of Monte dei Paschi (MPS) were down 5.74% at 09:43 a.m. London time, with Mediobanca up 6.28%.

Offering 23 of its shares for 10 of its acquisition target, Monte dei Paschi values Mediobanca's stock at roughly €15.992 each, a 5% premium to the close price of Jan. 23.

The equity of Monte dei Paschi was worth 8.7 billion euros as of the Jan. 23 close, while Mediobanca's market capitalization stood at at 12.3 billion euros, according to FactSet data.

CNBC has reached out to Mediobanca for comment.

Monte dei Paschi, the world's oldest bank, required a state rescue in 2017 after years of crippling losses, but has turned the tides of its fortunes under the leadership of UniCredit veteran Luigi Lovaglio. The Italian government retains a 11.73% stake in the lender.

«The transaction could contribute to complete the dynamics of the Italian financial system, in the context of strong consolidation,» Italian banking union Fabi said after the offer announcement, according to a CNBC translation. «MPS, historically at the center of complex events, is now moving in an ambitious direction. The bid confirms, among other things, that MPS has completely recovered.»

The Friday offer adds to a picture of heating M&A appetite in Italy's banking and financial services sector, where the country's second-largest bank UniCredit previously offered to buy out Banco BPM, which in turn seeks to acquire fund manager Anima Holding. Monte dei Paschi was itself a potential takeover target for UniCredit until talks recently collapsed in 2021.

 — CNBC's Silvia Amaro and Ganesh Rao contributed