By Andrea Mandala, Valentina Za and Giuseppe Fonte MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Shares in Monte dei Paschi di Siena and Mediobanca fell sharply on Friday after the Tuscan bank presented a multi-year
By Andrea Mandala, Valentina Za and Giuseppe Fonte
MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Shares in Monte dei Paschi di Siena and Mediobanca fell sharply on Friday after the Tuscan bank presented a multi-year strategy for the combined group, unsettling investors with a lack of detail on the terms of the full merger.
Traders said the drop reflected uncertainty over the share‑swap ratio and expectations that Italy will move ahead with the sale of its remaining stake in MPS.
Italy rescued MPS in 2017, acquiring a 68% stake which it has cut below 5% in 2023-2024.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday that Rome's role in MPS had ended, raising the prospect of a sale of the state's 4.9% stake.
A person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters the Treasury had no near-term plans to place its MPS holding on the market.
Shares in MPS closed down 6.8% with traded volumes more than three times the last month's daily average. Mediobanca closed down 6.2%.
Further unnerving investors, MPS and Mediobanca failed to communicate the terms at which the Siena-based lender will buy the 14% of Mediobanca it doesn't already own, including in particular the share swap ratio.
In a victory for CEO Luigi Lovaglio, who is battling for reappointment, MPS this month said it would proceed to buy 100% of Mediobanca and delist it.
The decision came after weeks of boardroom tensions with a key shareholder pushing to keep Mediobanca listed and actually cut the MPS stake.
Shares in both banks had risen on the news with investors positioning themselves for the share swap which MPS said on Friday it would communicate only on March 10.
The date is past a decision by MPS - expected on Monday - on the candidates, including the CEO and chairman, the board will put forward.
Traders said the date of March 10 left markets exposed to uncertainty for longer than anticipated.
(Reporting by Andrea Mandala and Valentina Za, Editing by Louise Heavens)
