MILAN (awp / dpa) – Italian bank Bper Banca has raised its offer for the takeover of its struggling competitor Carige, thus countering a non-binding proposal submitted by Crédit Agricole, the leading economic newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Sunday.
The Interbank Deposit Protection Fund (FITD), which owns 80% of Carige after having bailed it out in 2019, is expected to end the suspense on Monday, announcing with which suitor it intends to start exclusive negotiations on the takeover of the bank. The American investment fund Cerberus is also in the running.
The board of directors of Bper Banca, meeting on Saturday, decided to review the terms of its purchase proposal submitted in December, by now asking for a prior capital increase limited to “600 or 700 million euros” instead of ‘a billion ago, writes Il Sole 24 Ore.
Asked by AFP, Bper Banca did not react immediately.
The FITD had opposed in December an end of inadmissibility to the first offer of Bper Banca, considering too high the increase of capital requested, while leaving open the door to a renegotiation.
Bper Banca had proposed in December to take over for one symbolic euro 88.3% of Carige, of which 8.3% held by Cassa Centrale Banca (CCB), and to launch a public tender offer (takeover bid) on the remaining capital.
The takeover bid was to be made at a price of 0.80 euros per share, but in the meantime, Carige shares rose to 0.89 euros on the Milan Stock Exchange, prompting Bper Banca to raise its offer.
Crédit Agricole also offered to buy Carige for one euro and requested a prior capital increase of 700 million euros to be carried out by the fund, according to the Italian press. Asked by AFP, a spokesperson for Crédit Agricole declined to comment.
Crédit Agricole offered in April 2021 the Italian regional bank Credito Valtellinese (Creval) for some 785 million euros, thus strengthening its presence in the peninsula.
The mutualist group had already acquired at the end of 2017 three regional banks in northern Italy, the Savings Banks of Cesena, Rimini and San Miniato.
bh / ic