Published on 08/06/2026 - 14:15 GMT+2

Fresh developments mark the ongoing consolidation in Italian banking. Intesa Sanpaolo, in alliance with Unipol and with implications for its stake in Bper, unveiled on Monday a public purchase and exchange offer valued at 30.6 billion euros targeting the complete share capital of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, where the Italian state maintains a limited interest via the Economy Ministry.

Unipol plans to suggest to Bper, its primary shareholder, a merger involving the Siena branches that would result in a combined entity named Banca Monte dei Paschi. The arrangement includes a capital increase at Unipol Assicurazioni reaching up to 2.5 billion euros.

Should the deal succeed, Intesa Sanpaolo would rank as the second largest banking group in Europe by market capitalization, further altering the Italian and broader European financial landscape.

MPS finalized its purchase of Mediobanca in December, gaining influence over insurance leader Generali after extended bidding rounds that also drew in BPM and UniCredit while prompting dialogue between Italian authorities and the European Commission.

What does BPM's rival proposal entail?

This action by Intesa and Unipol disrupts Banco BPM's strategy, which on Sunday presented MPS with a friendly merger of equals plan.

Banco BPM's initiative, backed by French group Crédit Agricole holding 20.1 percent, seeks to build a substantial banking entity able to challenge the existing duopoly in Italy dominated by Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit.

"Prospects remain limited for any suitor relying solely on a written proposal to win over their target," remarked Unipol chairman Carlo Cimbri during the Milan press conference outlining the Intesa Sanpaolo project for MPS.

The Milan bank now faces greater obstacles in advancing its approach, as Intesa's offer invokes the passivity rule that restricts alternative deals or actions on Monte dei Paschi throughout the offer period ending by December 2026.

Path to Europe's second largest banking group

Based on details from Corriere della Sera, Intesa Sanpaolo will convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting on 10 September to approve a 5.7 billion euro capital increase for new ordinary shares to facilitate the transaction, under which Intesa would assume the legal structure of MPS along with Mediobanca and related operations.

Unipol would gain 635 Monte dei Paschi branches, 55 billion euros in direct deposits, customer loans near 42 billion euros yielding profits from 400 million to 460 million euros, plus risk weighted assets up to 20 billion euros, the MPS brand and roughly 2 million clients.

Bper enters the picture next, as Unipol proposes integrating it with the updated MPS entity and renaming the resulting organization Banca Monte dei Paschi.

To enable this step, Unipol will seek approval at a future extraordinary meeting for board authorization to raise share capital by as much as 2.5 billion euros.

The merger is slated for completion in December and is projected to enhance the new group's capacity to bolster the real and social economy as a leading European player.