Italian state sells 20% of Monte dei Paschi for at least 728 million – Banking & Finance

The Italian State is selling around 20% of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank for at least 728 million euros, as part of the plan to sell the institution that had been the target of a rescue that led to its nationalization.

After rescuing the bank for 5.4 billion euros six years ago, the Italian State injected another 1.6 billion euros at the end of last year, equivalent to 64% of the amount raised with the capital increase promoted by financial institution, which aimed to raise 2.5 billion euros.

Rome will have placed around 252 million shares through an accelerated booking, the country’s Ministry of Finance reported. UBS Europe, Bank of America Securities and Jefferies acted as global coordinators and bookrunners. The shares of the bank, founded in 1472, which is the oldest in the world still in activity, ended Monday’s session appreciating 0.72% at 3.07 euros, valuing the institution at almost 3.8 billion euros. euros. According to Bloomberg, the price per share is expected to be around 2.89 euros, and the offer was fully covered by investors.

The Italian Executive began the sale process of Monte dei Paschi last month, in an attempt to extract as much value as possible from the current majority position. The offer may be made through one or more stages, including on the stock exchange or extraordinary operations, or even a combination.

This is not the Government’s first attempt to alienate the institution. In 2021, the sale of part of the bank to UniCredit ended up failing. But the progress, in terms of accounting, made under the leadership of the current CEO, Luigi Lovaglio has made the bank more appealing to investors.

The commitments made to the European Union when the bank was rescued in 2017 oblige Rome to sell the bank to another shareholder with a significant shareholding.

The sale operation was initially scheduled for 2021, but was, however, extended until 2024.