Credit Agricole warns: ‘We’ve never been involved in the MPS-BPM deal; nothing can be done without us’
Banque Verte’s top management is putting the brakes on the proposed merger between the two Italian banks and sending a clear message to those calling the shots: ‘We are indispensable’. The preferred scenario? ‘A merger between BPM and CA Italia’
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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Credit Agricole’s top management is putting the brakes on merger plans between Banco Bpm and Banca Monte Paschi Siena (“it is very difficult to imagine how a merger could create value for shareholders”) and are reviving the plan to merge the Piazza Meda-based bank with their subsidiary Credit Agricole Italia, described as “the preferred scenario”. In any case, they warn that, given their stake now stands at nearly 30 per cent, “nothing can be done” without them.
When pressed by reporters during the quarterly results briefing, Agricole’s CEO, Olivier Gavalda, commented for the first time on the rumours of an imminent M&A between the two Italian banks, saying: “We have not received any plans, nor any information regarding a potential merger between MPS and BPM.” Shortly afterwards, however, a clear message came from Banque Verte: “With a 29.3 per cent stake in BPM, we are indispensable. This means that nothing can be done against us or without us. But of course, we are not the only ones making the decisions.”
‘We haven’t yet asked the ECB for approval to take control of BPM’
“To date, we have not yet asked the ECB for authorisation to take control” of Banco BPM, clarified Credit Agricole’s deputy general manager, Clotilde L’Angevin, who was also pressed on the future of the Piazza Meda-based bank, in which the French now hold a stake of just under 30 per cent: “Ours is a solid and stable position, which allows us to be a key player in this context.” Italia, the manager continued, is “a strategic market for us”, where “we want to continue to grow”. Among other things, we have “a solid, long-standing partnership with Banco Bpm; that is why we have increased our stake to 29.3 per cent”.
From this point of view, ‘we are in a strong position’ and – echoing what the CEO of Crédit Agricole has already said – she reiterates that ‘nothing can be done without us or against us’, but to date ‘we have not received any concrete proposals regarding, for example, the situation at MPS and Banco BPM’. For Crédit Agricole, L’Angevin concludes, “what is truly important is to continue to develop in the long term in Italia”. The executive points out that the group’s operations in Italia also include Crédit Agricole Italia and, therefore, “we also want to grow organically”.
BPM-MPS? ‘It’s unlikely to create value for shareholders’
During the conference call, the issue then became a ‘hot topic’ once again. Agricole, in fact, explicitly voiced its doubts for the first time regarding a possible merger between the Piazza Meda-based bank and Monte dei Paschi: “At this stage, it is very difficult to imagine how a merger between MPS and BPM could create value for the bank’s shareholders,” clarified Crédit Agricole’s CEO, Olivier Gavalda. “Any transaction involving Banco BPM should create long-term value for Crédit Agricole and the other shareholders. With our 29.3 per cent stake, we are by far the largest shareholder and, as such, we will have a say in any transaction involving the company and will analyse any sound proposal in terms of its strategic interest, execution risk and ability to create long-term value.”
