(Bloomberg) -- Intesa Sanpaolo SpA will go ahead with its plan to take over smaller rival UBI Banca SpA if at least 50.1% of its shareholders adhere to the offer, Chief Executive Officer Carlo Messina said in an interview with Corriere della Sera.
“Given the value of the deal for the country, as well as for Intesa Sanpaolo and UBI itself, we hope for the widest adherence, but -- I would emphasize -- we are so convinced that we will go ahead even if we will have 50.1%,” the CEO was cited as saying by the Italian daily. “Such a stake is enough to achieve most of the expected synergies.“
Intesa filed the prospectus for its bid to Consob late on Friday, asking the regulator to sign off on the offer documentation, the first formal step that will allow it to proceed with the unsolicited offer to buy UBI in an all-share deal. The transaction would be the biggest European banking acquisition in more than 10 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
UBI investors will get 17 new shares in Intesa for every 10 shares they hold, a ratio valuing the stock at more than 28% higher than its closing price at the time of the announcement on Feb. 17.
According to the terms, Intesa will pursue the bid if at least 66.67% of UBI shareholders accept the offer, and it has the right to consider whether to go ahead if it gets the acceptance of at least 50% + 1 share.
Separately, Messina told the newspaper the bank will donate as much as 100 million euros ($113 million) to help fight the coronavirus in Italy, and that it will grant up to 5 billion euros in loans to firms affected by the outbreak.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sonia Sirletti in Milan at ssirletti@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, James Amott, Nick Rigillo
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