Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) has secured the majority of Mediobanca after its shareholders accepted BMPS’ takeover offer. 

In a statement, BMPS said during the acceptance period, which ended on 8 September, “total acceptances of the offer reached 62.3% of the share capital of Mediobanca”.  

“This transaction creates a new competitive force, among the leaders in the Italian banking sector, offering a wide and diversified range of products and services for the benefit of households, businesses and communities,” the bank added.  

Italy’s BMPS first launched an unsolicited bid to acquire its larger competitor in January. However, Mediobanca’s leadership strongly resisted the takeover attempt. 

Earlier this month, BMPS sweetened its offer with a €0.90 ($1.05) cash payment per Mediobanca share, alongside a share exchange of 2.533 new shares of BMPS. 

The cash component, amounting to a financial commitment of approximately €750m, was introduced to make the offer more appealing after Mediobanca criticised the initial bid as “totally inadequate”. 

The total compensation now values Mediobanca shares at €16.334 each, representing an 11.4% premium over the January 2025 share price. 

BMPS could further increase its stake in Mediobanca as it has decided to reopen the acceptance period from 16 September to 22 September. 

It aims to finalise payments for shares tendered during the initial period by 15 September, with a payment date for the reopened period set for 29 September.  

According to Bloomberg, the acquisition marks the conclusion of Mediobanca’s era as Italy’s largest independent publicly traded investment bank and may result in the departure of its CEO, Alberto Nagel.  

Having joined the bank in 1991 and becoming CEO in 2008, Nagel is one of the longest-serving chief executives in European banking.  

According to Bloomberg News, Nagel, along with the rest of the board, is preparing to step down.  

However, sources familiar with the situation indicate that no final decisions have been made by Nagel or the board, and circumstances could still change.