Monte dei Paschi weighs bids for Banco BPM and Banca Generali to counter Intesa takeover

Counter-offensive against Intesa Sanpaolo

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio is preparing alternative takeover proposals to resist an unsolicited 36 billion euro (42 billion dollar) bid launched in June 2026 by rival Intesa Sanpaolo in agreement with the Unipol group. The Siena-based lender has scheduled an extraordinary board meeting for Thursday, 20 August at 09:00, where Lovaglio plans to present potential exchange offers for Banco BPM and Banca Generali. Intesa plans to sell half of the commercial branch network of MPS if its takeover succeeds, an outcome Lovaglio has argued would destroy corporate value. The initiative follows the restructuring of MPS, which received a state bailout in 2017 before completing its reprivatisation across 2023 and 2024. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also publicly expressed hope that the Tuscan institution will not be broken up.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio is putting the final touches on presenting to the bank's board not just one, but two extraordinary operations as alternatives to the takeover and exchange offer launched in recent months by Intesa Sanpaolo in agreement with the Unipol group.

Wealth management restructuring with Generali

The primary defensive option under consideration focuses on an extraordinary transaction for Banca Generali, in which Italian insurance group Assicurazioni Generali holds a controlling 51% stake. Lovaglio aims to combine Banca Generali with Mediobanca, in which MPS holds an 86.3% controlling stake, to establish what could become the largest wealth management hub in Italy. The prospective deal could take the form of an exchange offer mixing cash and shares, potentially granting Assicurazioni Generali a 12% to 13% stake in MPS. That equity position would safeguard existing insurbanking partnerships and provide Generali a direct route to replace French insurer Axa, whose bancassurance agreement with MPS expires in 2027. To raise necessary liquidity, MPS is evaluating the sale of the 13.2% stake in Generali that it owns indirectly through Mediobanca.

Funding avenues and the Mediobanca precedent

The proposed transaction for Banca Generali reflects a defensive structure attempted in April of the previous year by Mediobanca Chief Executive Alberto Nagel to fend off an advance from MPS. Under this framework, the acquisition would be financed by exchanging Banca Generali shares for the 13.2% stake in Generali held by Siena through Mediobanca. Assicurazioni Generali would subsequently hold surplus treasury shares that could be sold to external institutional investors. UniCredit, which holds an 8.80% stake in Generali, alongside Intesa Sanpaolo, has been cited among potential purchasers for those shares. Executing the deal requires a formal agreement with Generali Chief Executive Philippe Donnet, who has held multiple meetings with counterparts in recent weeks to discuss potential terms.

Shareholder resistance and regulatory hurdles

A separate share-swap offer for Banco BPM faces substantial hurdles following earlier failed negotiations. Banco BPM, Italy's fourth-largest bank, explored a potential merger with MPS in early June 2026 to counter Intesa's move, but abandoned the plan after making no progress and facing opposition from its primary shareholder. French lender Crédit Agricole, which controls just under one-third of Banco BPM equity, declared that it saw no economic value in such a combination. Furthermore, any counter-offensive launched by MPS must satisfy the passivity rule restrictions triggered under Italian takeover regulations following Intesa's bid. Lovaglio must secure clearances from both the board and shareholders, all while the Milan public prosecutor prepares a ruling regarding an ongoing investigation into MPS and Mediobanca.