Banking Shakeup: A Glimpse into Italy's New Financial Landscape
Financial institutions face a notable risk in 2025, as suggested by the current trajectory in the securities market.
(info from Radiocor) - Some call it a strategic risk game, others preferdominoes, or a nail-biting detective novel. Regardless of the analogy, the ongoing consolidation of Italy's major banks is drastically altering the economic landscape, impacting everything from corporate financing to the performance of the FTSE MIB index.
In 2025, the big word is Ops (whereas only the OPA of Banco BPM on Anima Holding took place technically), referring to the pending reciprocal share exchanges that will reshape the Italian banking sector. Unicredit has already launched a bid for its conquest of the Piazza Meda institution, with Banca Monte Paschi Siena set to follow with a move on Mediobanca in late June. Bper and Bca Pop Sondrio also await their turns, scheduled for summer, with Unipol as a key player since it acts as the main shareholder for both.
The boards of the target companies have so far rejected the offers, indicating that the path to consolidation will not be smooth or obstacle-free. Industry insiders speculate about possible last-minute relaunches to sway shareholders and activate the golden power, which has established specific hurdles in one instance—the UniCredit takeover. The stage is further set by the involvement of influential figures such as Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and the Delfin holding of the Del Vecchio family in key negotiations, including those for Rocca Salimbeni and Piazzetta Cuccia.
Recent developments include Alberto Nagel’s attempt to sell his 13% stake in Mediobanca to free the Lion of Trieste from the grasp of Generali, who also happens to own 50.1% of Banca Generali. The story goes back to Andrea Orcel, who crossed the Alps in an attempt to conquer Germany’s Commerzbank, sparking local government and union criticism. A similar tale unfolded in Spain, where Banco Sabadell turned down the proposed merger with BBVA, with politics standing in the way of the operation. Among the smaller players at Piazza Affari, the OPA of Banca Ifis on Illimity Bank is noteworthy.
(info from various sources) - As of June 2022, there was no significant update on a merger process specifically involving Mediobanca and Generali. However, in recent months leading up to June 2025, Mediobanca proposed a deal worth 6.3 billion euros to acquire Banca Generali, a key subsidiary of Assicurazioni Generali. The offer includes exchanging 13.1% of Mediobanca’s capital for the 50.1% stake Generali holds in Banca Generali [3][4].
The planned shareholder meeting to vote on the takeover bid, initially scheduled for June 16, 2025, has been postponed to allow Generali to evaluate the bid and Mediobanca to secure broader shareholder support. Mediobanca and Generali are currently in discussions about a strategic partnership in various sectors, including bancassurance, asset management, and insure-banking, to ensure continuity of their agreements [4]. As of June 2022, there were no reports of a merger between Mediobanca and Generali themselves. The current developments focus on Mediobanca's bid for Banca Generali and the strategic partnerships involved.
In the unfolding consolidation of Italy's major banks, investing in businesses like Unicredit, Banca Monte Paschi Siena, Mediobanca, Bper, Bca Pop Sondrio, and Unipol becomes a significant decision in the financial market, given the pending reciprocal share exchanges set for 2025. The market Performance of the FTSE MIB index is closely tied to these business transactions, as demonstrated by the ongoing merger negotiation between Mediobanca and Banca Generali.
