Banks: Crédit Agricole wants to merge Banco BPM with Italian subsidiary
The Italian banking landscape is on the verge of a major shake-up. At the initiative of Crédit Agricole, the country's third-largest bank is to be created.
Crédit Agricole plans to merge its Italian subsidiary with Banco BPM, increasing its stake in the Milan and Verona-based regional bank to 45% from 29.6%. The deal would create Italy's third-largest bank, behind Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, with Giuseppe Castagna as its head. Crédit Agricole is offering a €1 billion special dividend to other Banco BPM shareholders, and expects around €800 million in synergies from the merger.
The Italian government's response to the plan is unclear, but it has the right to intervene in strategic mergers and acquisitions.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
