The board of directors of Bpm bench rejected the public exchange offer (OPS) of 10.1 billion euros presented yesterday by Unicreditjudging the proposal not advantageous for its shareholders and believing that the conditions offered do not adequately reflect the value and potential of the institute. The decision was communicated in a note released by the Piazza Meda bank late in the morning, which specifies that the offer was not agreed upon in advance. At the same time the political front is heating up, also putting at risk the solidity of the majority: on the one hand there is the Alloy that with through Matteo Salvini vigorously opposes the operation arguing that Unicreditgiven its shareholder base where they stand out Blackrock And Allianz must be considered a foreign bank. On the other side there is Flavio Tosi which rejects the statement of the Northern League secretary arguing that the government cannot put any veto because Unicredit it is to all intents and purposes a national bank having its headquarters in Milan and paying taxes to the Italian tax authorities. The choice to intervene Tosi it is certainly not a coincidence: he is the former mayor of Verona and in the city of Verona there is the registered office of Bpm bench. His intervention almost seems like a blessing of the operation.
So a double front is opening up in this game: political with new tensions running through the parties that support the government and financial following the moves of the different protagonists.
According to the board of directors of Bpm benchthe offer, entirely in shares, provides for a premium of only 0.5% compared to the official price of the stock on November 22nd, but implies a discount of 7.6% compared to yesterday’s price given the drop in share prices Unicredit. An absolutely unusual situation for operations of this type. The board of directors also expressed concern about the employment and social impacts resulting from the cost synergies estimated by Unicreditequal to 900 million euros. Despite the promise of synergies, the bank claims that these are not sufficiently exploited in the conditions of the offer.
Another point raised concerns the adoption of the passivity rule, which would limit the strategic flexibility of Bpm bench. This aspect could interfere with other ongoing operations, such as the takeover bid on Souland compromise the group’s position in other strategic initiatives, such as the investment in the Bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (Mps). The passivity rule would reduce the freedom of action of the management, already engaged in an organic growth plan which has seen important successes, such as the integration between Bpm and Banco Popolare.
In the context of the offer of Unicredit on Bpm benchconcerns related to the location of Amundithe main European asset manager, which saw a 4.5% drop in its shares in Paris, after the downgrade by JPMorgan. Analysts at the US bank pointed out that the uncertainty regarding the distribution agreement between Unicredit And Amundi could negatively weigh on the French manager’s profits, particularly in Italy, where Unicredit is one of the main partners of Amundi. If the merger between Unicredit And Bpm bench If successful, there could be repercussions on distribution fees and potentially capital outflows, with an estimated impact of 12% on the company’s results. Amundi in 2027.
Meanwhile, Bpm bench continues to pursue its offer on Soulwith the presentation of the official documents scheduled for today. Despite the turbulence resulting from the proposal to Unicreditthe bank remains focused on implementing its strategies and pursuing its growth objective, while awaiting further developments.
