Intesa Sanpaolo’s surprise bid for UBI Banca has stunned the financial community in Milan and beyond. At €4.9 billion, it’s Europe’s biggest bank takeover bid for a decade. It looks like a throwback to a different era in banking.
Financial sector insiders say it could even mark a return to hostile bank takeovers – something not seen in Europe since some of the disastrous deals of the mid-2000s.
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Victor Massiah, UBI Banca |
As the deal comes at about a 30% premium to UBI’s valuation prior to the announcement, chief executive Victor Massiah would be well-advised to accept the offer, a prominent bank investor tells Euromoney.
Whether or not Massiah agrees, the bid was neither requested nor anticipated by UBI – nor almost anyone else. It happened without any of the lengthy horse-trading with the target’s regional powerbrokers that would usually precede a mid-tier bank takeover in Italy.
The fact that Intesa’s shares rose after the announcement, albeit only by a couple of percentage points, will give ammunition to the growing advocates of more bank consolidation across Europe.
