Intesa-MPS: Consob gives the go-ahead for the prospectus; the offer is set to begin on 24 November
This is the crucial step towards launching the Opas scheme in Siena. Sign-ups are open until 22 January, with cash payment due on 29 January
Consob has given the go-ahead to Intesa Sanpaolo. The Authority has, in fact, approved the offer document for the public takeover bid launched by Ca’ de Sass for Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
This marks a decisive step in the lengthy authorisation process in which the bank led by Carlo Messina is engaged in the acquisition of Siena: Consob’s approval now paves the way for the publication of the prospectus, which will take place on Tuesday, and for the start of the acceptance period, which will begin on 24 November. From that date, shareholders of the Siena-based bank will be able to tender their shares to the Milan-based bank. The offer is due to close on 22 January 2027, with a total duration of 40 trading days, subject to a five-day reopening from 1 to 5 February.
The offer provides for 1.664 newly issued Intesa Sanpaolo shares and €1.25 in cash for each MPS share, following the 25-cent increase decided on 3 October. In recent days, the exchange ratio has been adjusted from the initial 1.6 to neutralise the effect of the ex-dividend date for Intesa’s interim dividend.
On the basis of this information, the bank expects settlement to take place on 29 January, with the exchange of the shares tendered and the payment of the cash component for each share. The second window, should it be opened, will be open to investors who were initially excluded from the offer.
Consob’s approval – granted at the conclusion of a Sunday meeting of the Authority chaired by Guido Stazi – has come a few days earlier than expected, which had been set for the start of the week. It comes after the rejection, at the MPS shareholders’ meeting on 29 October, of CEO Luigi Lovaglio’s defensive plan, which envisaged the acquisitions of BancoBpm and Banca Generali and the merger with Mediobanca.
