Italian lender Mediocredito Centrale (MCC) is set to receive access to Monte dei Paschi di Siena’s (MPS) books.

MCC plans to purchase some MPS assets if the latter is acquired by UniCredit, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Particularly, it seeks to acquire MPS branches in southern Italy as well as other locations which UniCredit may not take over.

Notably, UniCredit entered into exclusive discussions with the Italian Government last month to acquire parts of MPS.

As agreed, UniCredit is required to complete due diligence process in 40 days. However, local elections in Siena may slow down the process, the sources told the news agency.

MPS was bailed out by the government in 2017 and currently owns around 64% stake in the struggling lender.

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The MPS acquisition is expected to support UniCredit’s footprint position in Italy.

At the time of announcement, UniCredit said that MPS may add around 3.9 million clients, €80bn customer loans, €87bn customer deposits to its books, subject to the definition of the final perimeter.

“This would lead to a significant increase in future profitability for the Group, while the prerequisites of the transaction would allow UniCredit to preserve its capital position, improve its asset quality and its risk profile on a pro-forma basis,” the UniCredit statement said last month.