Mps, the Caltagirone group rises around 9 per cent

Manoeuvres are underway in the Mps shareholding structure, ahead of the extraordinary shareholders' meeting on 17 April that will have to approve the capital increase in view of the offer on Mediobanca. The Caltagirone group has rounded up its stake in the Siena-based institution close to the 9% share held by its partner Delfin. The Corriere della Sera's indiscretion is not denied by accredited financial sources.

The group headed by the Roman real estate entrepreneur bought a stake in the sale of the third tranche made by the Treasury and has already rounded up in recent weeks to 8%. Caltagirone, together with Delfin and presumably the Treasury, will vote in favour of delegating to the board of directors the power to increase the capital at the service of the Offer on Mediobanca.

In the extraordinary part, the Mps Shareholders' Meeting on 17 April next will in fact be called upon to vote on the proposal to 'grant the Board of Directors the power to increase the share capital in one or more instalments, in divisible form, by 31 December 2025, to be released by means of a contribution in kind, to service the voluntary public offering on Mediobanca'.

In the meantime, other indications about the vote arrive, of a contrasting sign. On the one hand, Cpp Investments, the fund operating on behalf of Canada Pension Plans, has indicated on its website that it will vote against the capital increase. Cpp, according to the most recent data, holds a 0.7% share in Mps' capital. On the other hand, Norges Bank, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund that holds 2.6% of Monte dei Paschi di Siena's capital, announced that it will vote in favour.

Calstrs-California State Teachers Retirement System, a shareholder of Mps with a 0.09% stake, will instead vote in favour. This was announced by the California Teachers' Retirement Fund ahead of the shareholders' meeting on 17 April. Proxies were also divided in their recommendations on the capital increase for the Ops in recent days: Institutional Shareholder Services (Iss) had recommended voting against, while Glass Lewis had suggested voting in favour.