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(Bloomberg) — Giorgia Meloni’s government sold a minority stake in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA to rival Banco BPM SpA, a move aimed at bolstering the Italian shareholder base of the world’s oldest bank.
Milan-based Banco BPM bought 5% of Monte Paschi, according to a statement, one of several sales that netted Italy about €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) for stakes totaling 15%. Anima Holding SpA bought 3%, it said in a separate statement, bringing its total ownership in Monte Paschi to around 4%. Caltagirone Group bought 3.5% and Italy’s Del Vecchio family bought 3.5%, Ansa reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
It’s another sign that a new wave of consolidation has started for Italy’s financial industry, after UniCredit SpA amassed a stake in German Commerzbank. Earlier this month, Banco BPM made a €1.6 billion all-cash takeover offer for Anima, where it already owns about 22%.
The Monte Paschi sales mark the latest step for Italy in a long-running restructuring process that started with a nationalization in 2017. The transactions could give Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni bragging rights for fixing a seemingly endless problem that her predecessors had failed to resolve, and fulfill Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti’s desire for an all-Italian deal.
“We have completed an important action with the implementation of an Italian banking and financial operation aimed at strengthening the shareholder base,” Giorgetti said in a statement. The proceeds will be used to reduce the country’s mammoth debt.
BPM doesn’t plan to ask permission to boost its stake to over 10%, it said in its statement.
“The acquisition of a stake in MPS by Banco BPM is part of the broader context of the voluntary public tender offer on the entire share capital of Anima Holding SpA,” BPM said.
An initial sale of 25% in Monte Paschi in 2023 allowed Italy to raise about €920 million ($973 million). The sale of an additional 12.5% in March brought in another €650 million.
“We plan on selling a further stake before the end of the year,” Giorgetti said in an interview with Bloomberg in October. “The market situation of high interest rates allowed Monte Paschi to come out of its problems brilliantly, and our successful stake sales prove that.”
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