The standoff taking place in Italy over the takeover of the banks has been going on for a long time and is expected to continue for several months.
Here is a summary of the steps that led to UniCredit's takeover offer for Banco BPM and upcoming events:
APRIL 7, 2022 – Crédit Agricole becomes the main investor in Banco BPM with a 9.2% stake, less than two months after UniCredit shelved a takeover offer for BPM which, according to some sources, was worth 7 billion euros ($7.4 billion).
MAY 17, 2022 – Amundi, the largest European asset manager whose main shareholder is Crédit Agricole, takes a 5.16% stake in Anima Holding, the largest Italian independent asset manager whose main shareholder is Banco BPM.
FEB 14 2023 – Italian investment fund FSI buys 7.2% of Anima, betting on future consolidation.
NOV 6 6, 2024 – BPM announces an offer of up to €1.6 billion to buy out Anima's other investors and take full control of the fund manager, of which it owns 22%.
NOV 14 14, 2024 – Italy sells 15% of bailed-out bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, making BPM a major shareholder with a 5% stake.
Anima, which also sells its funds through MPS branches and already owns 1%, is buying another 3%. The remaining 7% goes to two Italian investors, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Delfin, the holding company of the late tycoon Leonardo Del Vecchio.
NOV 25 25, 2024 – UniCredit launches an unsolicited offer of 10 billion euros for all BPM shares, proposing a premium of 0.5% to the previous closing price and 15% before the offer level of Anima.
NOV. 20, 2024 – Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, who is a shareholder of UniCredit and BPM, increases his stake in Monte dei Paschi to 5%.
NOV. 26, 2024 – BPM rejects UniCredit's offer, believing that it undervalues the bank, ties its hands in strategic operations, notably the acquisition of Anima, and creates new risks for UniCredit, which is already suing Commerzbank.
DEC. December 6, 2024 – Crédit Agricole uses derivatives to increase its stake in BPM from 9.9% to 15.1%, saying it could reach 19.99% but ruling out a full buyout offer.
DEC. 7, 2024 – UniCredit reiterates its willingness to sit down with Crédit Agricole, stating that the increase in participation “changes nothing”.
DEC. 9, 2024 – Caltagirone, investor in MPS, Banco BPM, UniCredit, increases its stake in Anima to 5.3%.
DEC. 15, 2024 – The deadline expires for UniCredit to file the document for the BPM offer with the market regulator Consob. UniCredit will also file approval requests with the European Central Bank, the Bank of Italy and the Italian insurance authority.
FEB. 2025 – BPM is expected to publish its annual results, which UniCredit has indicated it wants to examine before evaluating the possibility of supplementing its offer for all shares with cash.
APRIL 10, 2025 – UniCredit shareholders' meeting is convened to approve new share issues to finance the offer for Banco BPM.
(1 dollar = 0.9525 euros)
