Mps launches two exchange offers worth 34 billion on Banco Bpm and Banca Generali

The board of directors of Monte dei Paschi di Siena approved on Friday, August 21, 2026, the plan of chief executive Luigi Lovaglio: two voluntary public exchange offers, entirely paid in shares, on Banco Bpm and Banca Generali. The total declared value is around 34 billion euros, split into 25.3 billion for Banco Bpm and 8.72 billion for Banca Generali, according to the bank’s statement reported by ANSA and Il Post.

The move stems from a defensive position. In June, Intesa Sanpaolo had launched a public purchase and exchange offer on Mps worth 30.6 billion euros; the plan now approved aims to change the size of the target, turning the Siena-based bank from prey into consolidator of two listed institutions. The cost of the operation, it should be said, is not in cash: by paying in stock, Mps exposes the value of its offers to the performance of the securities involved, so the 34 billion is a snapshot as of the day of the announcement, not a fixed sum.

The decision was not unanimous. The board meeting lasted seven hours the day before the announcement and four members out of thirteen did not approve the plan, as reported by both ANSA and Forbes Italia. On an operation of this size, a minority of nearly one third of the board is a fact that weighs on the solidity of the negotiating mandate of those who will carry it forward.

The objective stated by Lovaglio is the creation of a second national banking hub: “We are creating the second Italian group, of European relevance and ready to compete,” said the chief executive in the presentation reported by Il Post.

The market’s first reading was of a different sign for the four stocks: in trading following the announcement, Mps and Intesa Sanpaolo moved higher, while Banco Bpm and Banca Generali lost ground (Forbes Italia). It is a movement that neither validates nor disproves the plan: it signals that operators, for now, do not take for granted the successful outcome of the two offers at the proposed exchange ratios.

On the opposite front, sources close to the matter report that Intesa Sanpaolo’s lawyers are evaluating observations to submit to Consob on the operation. This part currently comes from a single source (ANSA); no independent confirmation is available and no formal filings appear to have been lodged.

What remains outside the available material are the elements that will decide the outcome: the final exchange ratios, the timeline of authorizations, and the position of the reference shareholders of the two institutions targeted by the offers. The fact established today is what was resolved by the board: two share-based offers totaling 34 billion, approved with four votes against out of thirteen.