The decision of the administrative court comes two days after the hearing and confirms the stop to the operation as already established by Consob
The Tar of Lazio rejected Banco BPM’s request to revoke the suspension of the public exchange offer launched on the same bank by Unicredit. Another significant stage in the banking Risiko, which marks a point in favor of Piazza Gae Aulenti and postpones the end of the match to 23 July. The decision of the administrative court comes two days after the hearing and confirms the stop to the operation already established by Consob. In the meantime, Unicredit will try to reopen the dialogue with the government to look for a solution on the conditions of the Golden Power, the veto power that the Italian government can exercise on strategic operations in sensitive sectors.
Banco Bpm had challenged the measure in front of the TAR, contesting the decision to suspend the offer for a month. For the Institute of Piazza Meda, the possibility that the Golden Power decree imposed particular conditions had already been taken into account at the time of the announcement of the OPS. In fact, government prescriptions should not have been considered as a novelty such as to justify the stop. The reaction of Banco BPM was firm: the measure was called “abnormal” and in contrast with the practice of Consob itself, which according to the bank would not have taken into account the market interests, the bank and the shareholders.
However, the game is not yet closed. On 9 July the Lazio Tar will decide on the validity of the Golden Power decree, another decisive chapter for the operation. Unicredit, for his part, has chosen to give up the precautionary suspension, a move that could mark an opening against the treasure, which has shown signs of availability to review the imposed conditions. The bank, led by Andrea Orcel, has in fact declared that he was confident in the possibility of a compromise.
To be the background to the dispute between the two banks, there is the crucial node of the value of the operation. Orcel reiterated that the aggregation between Unicredit and Banco Bpm is “a valid operation”, but underlined that it “clashes with visions that make it de facto non -economic”. In other words, the offer may decay. The caution of the Chief of Unicredit has also clearly emerged in its recent statements, in which it has reduced the chances of success of the operation to a modest 20%. “The acquisitions are a tool, not a goal,” he told Berlin, explaining that the operation must be advantageous for the group. If it does not bring value, the merger will be set aside. It must also be said that, under these market conditions, the Ops is at a discount. It means that without a relaunch by Unicredit, the maneuver dies alone because no shareholder from Banco Bpm would have convenient to join.
A picture that leaves few margins except for the fact that negotiations and continuous uncertainty make this one of the most important joints on the Italian banking scene. The game is still open, but the fate of the merger could be decided from 9 July.
