Monte dei Paschi makes 13-billion-euro bid for Mediobanca

Italy’s bailed-out Monte dei Paschi di Siena on Friday launched a 13.3 billion euro ($13.95 billion) all-share takeover offer for larger domestic peer Mediobanca.

Offering 23 of its shares for 10 of its acquisition target, Monte dei Paschi values Mediobanca’s stock at roughly €15.992 each, a 5% premium to the close price of Jan. 23.

The equity of Monte dei Paschi was worth 8.7 billion euros as of the Jan. 23 close, while Mediobanca’s market capitalization stood at at 12.3 billion euros, according to FactSet data.

Monte dei Paschi, the world’s oldest bank, required a state rescue in 2017 after years of crippling losses, but has turned the tides of its fortunes under the leadership of UniCredit veteran Luigi Lovaglio.

The offer adds to a picture of heating M&A appetite in Italy’s banking and financial services sector, where the country’s second-largest bank UniCredit previously offered to buy out Banco BPM, which in turn seeks to acquire fund manager Anima Holding.  

 — CNBC’s Ganesh Rao contributed to this report.

This breaking news story is being updated.