Intesa Sanpaolo offers over 30 billion euros to take over Monte dei Paschi

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest banking group, launched an unsolicited offer of 30.6 billion euros in cash and shares to take over rival bank Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena (MPS), Reuters reports, according to Agerpres.

MPS, a bank that the Italian state rescued in 2017 and reprivatized in 2023-2024, has become a central player in the consolidation of the Italian banking sector after buying Mediobanca, in the first wave of mergers that took place last year. The deal turned MPS into the largest investor in insurance group Generali, one of the most important assets in the Italian financial sector.

Intesa Sanpaolo, whose business model is focused on wealth management and insurance, tried to buy Generali in 2017, but eventually abandoned the plan and developed its own insurance activities.

Intesa said in a press release published yesterday morning that its offer represented a 12.5% premium to the closing price of MPS shares on Friday, valuing MPS at 30.6 billion euros. On Friday evening, MPS was valued at 27.4 billion euros.

Intesa said it had reached an agreement with insurance group Unipol, the main investor in BPER Banca, for the sale of a banking business comprising 635 MPS branches and the bank's brand, if its takeover bid is successful.

The announcement came a day after Banco BPM reported that its board had unanimously approved the expression of interest to start discussions with MPS regarding a potential combination between the two lenders, which would be a merger of equals.

Intesa is also present on the Romanian market. In 2025, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania merged with First Bank, consolidating its position on the local market. The bank is part of the International Banking Division of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, which serves 7.4 million customers through 883 branches in 12 countries.

• Call on Intesa and Unicredit to support the Italian economy

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday that Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit SpA banks should contribute to helping stimulate the Italian economy, according to Bloomberg.

"Italy's main banks will end this year of hardship for most families with profits of 20 billion euros,” Salvini said in Milan. Matteo Salvini's far-right League party is a member of the governing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni and a vocal supporter of imposing taxes on creditors.

"The League will ask banks that generate unprecedented profits and profits to contribute to the growth of the country's economy,” the deputy prime minister said.

This is not the first time the government in Rome has tried to impose additional taxes on banks. Meloni first tried in 2023 to impose additional taxes on banks, but the effort failed, sending markets into a downward spiral. Last year, the government in Rome reached an agreement with banks to freeze some of their tax credits, which allowed Meloni to declare victory, but keeps the measure largely revenue-neutral for banks.

The bank tax has also created tensions within the ruling coalition, particularly between the League, a far-right nationalist party, and Forza Italia, a moderate, pro-business party.

With elections approaching in 2027, coalition partners such as Salvini are looking for new sources of funding to attract votes.

Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, is set to grow less than expected this year, by just 0.6%, according to the government's forecasts. With its debt-to-GDP ratio exceeding 130% and its budget deficit exceeding the EU's limit of 3.1% last year, the government has no room to allocate funds for economic stimulus measures, support for families hit by high energy costs, or higher defense spending, as NATO has promised.

Salvini explained that some of the money collected could be reinvested in government aid for families buying homes.

The government in Rome recently announced its intention to raise billions of euros from banks by raising corporate tax and postponing certain tax credits, among other measures presented in this year's budget.

Italian banks' profitability has soared in recent years after the European Central Bank ended a long period of negative interest rates.