Banco BPM is not attending the MPS shareholders’ meeting
The bank’s board of directors takes note of the ‘legal constraints associated with its status as a shareholder in MPS and the related conflict of interest’
BancoBpm will not attend the Monte dei Paschi di Siena shareholders’ meeting next Thursday, 29 October, at which shareholders are to consider the defence plan drawn up by CEO Luigi Lovaglio, including the public exchange offer for BancoBpm itself and the one for Banca Generali.
The board of directors of the institution headed by Giuseppe Castagna, as expected, has “taken note of the legal constraints associated with its status as a shareholder of MPS and the related conflict of interest, and has therefore deemed it appropriate not to attend the shareholders’ meeting”, a spokesperson for the bank announced. It appears that the decision was taken unanimously.
With this move – which was, in fact, widely expected – Piazza Meda has resolved one of the key issues in the run-up to the vote and, at the same time, has withdrawn from the contest in which it has effectively been both a passive and active player.
The group led by Giuseppe Castagna holds a 3.74 per cent stake in Monte’s share capital and therefore has a say in any potential extraordinary transaction involving Monte; at the same time, however, it is also the focus of Monte’s attention, as it is the target of the public offer. By failing to attend the shareholders’ meeting in Siena – as opposed to abstaining – BPM reduces the capital represented and thus the quorum required to approve the resolutions, and this automatically translates into a point in favour of the bloc – comprising the major Sienese shareholders, from Delfin to Caltagirone – which has already expressed its opposition to the Lovaglio plan.
This decision is, moreover, fully in line with that taken by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), which will not be attending the meeting.
