Banco BPM Asks Consob for Measures to Protect Stakeholders

MILAN (Reuters) – Italy's Banco BPM announced its intention to request market watchdog Consob to implement protective measures for the bank's stakeholders and its acquisition bid for Anima. This comes after rival UniCredit initiated its own bid for Banco BPM.

Banco BPM previously expressed concerns that UniCredit's €10 billion all-share bid jeopardizes its proposal for asset manager Anima.

The UniCredit bid activates a 'passivity rule,' preventing the target's management from taking actions that might disrupt the offer without obtaining prior shareholder approval. As a result, Banco BPM is unable to increase its offer price for Anima.

The Banco BPM board convened on Tuesday to strategize regarding the UniCredit bid, which they described as "unusual." They argued that the near-zero premium does not accurately reflect Banco BPM's value.

Banco BPM criticized UniCredit for saying it offered a 15% premium to the BPM share price before the Anima bid, claiming that the premium should be 4% instead of 15%.

UniCredit has not responded to a request for comment from Reuters.

Banco BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna questioned why the share price should overlook the transactions initiated with the Anima bid. He suggested that it does not serve market transparency for UniCredit to cite one bid price while hinting at potential revisions.

In discussing Banco BPM's offer, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel acknowledged the bid's closeness to market price, noting that bidders in other situations have sometimes added a cash component later.

Based on Monday's closing price, Banco BPM stated that the UniCredit bid represents a 14% discount to the market price.