MILAN (Reuters) – UniCredit is ready to discuss with Crédit Agricole which has increased its stake in Banco BPM, a spokesperson for the Italian bank said on LinkedIn.
Italian bank UniCredit made a public takeover offer for Banco BPM last month.
Crédit Agricole said on Friday that it had increased its stake from 9.9% to 15.1% in Banco BPM via derivative instruments, excluding a public purchase offer for the entire capital. It is seeking approval from the European Central Bank (ECB) to increase its stake to 19.99%.
“Yesterday’s news regarding the increase in Crédit Agricole’s stake in BPM does not change anything for UniCredit,” the spokesperson said on the professional social network LinkedIn.
“We have always been ready to negotiate with [Crédit Agricole]because this would have been necessary regardless of the extent of their participation.”
Crédit Agricole became the main shareholder of Banco BPM in 2022, shortly after an abortive takeover attempt of Banco BPM by UniCredit.
(Written by Valentina Za, Kate Entringer)
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