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BLOOMBERG
Italy began the process of selling Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA by hiring advisers as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni seeks to maximise the value of the state’s controlling stake.
The Finance Ministry will select legal and financial advisers to help in the sale, the ministry said in a statement. The disposal can be done in one or more stages, through a public offer or through extraordinary operations, including a combination, according to the Treasury.
“The goal of the ministry is the full valorisation of its holding, achieved in the interest of the bank and all of its shareholders,” according to the statement.
Rome has long struggled to sell the controlling stake in Siena, Italy-based Paschi. Two years ago, the previous government tried and failed to combine Paschi with UniCredit SpA. But progress made under Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio, who implemented a turnaround after years of restructuring, has made Paschi more appealing to investors.
Italy is seeking to merge Paschi with a similar-sized peer to create a new hub which would retain the world’s oldest banking brand, Bloomberg reported. Founded in 1472, Monte Paschi has undergone years of painful efforts to turn its business around. The bank was first bailed out in 2009 after it was hit by souring loans and derivatives deals that backfired.