By Giuseppe Fonte and Claudia Cristoferi
ROME (Reuters) – Italy reserves the right to use its golden power legislation aimed at shielding strategic assets on UniCredit’s plans to take over Banco BPM, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said.
Italy’s No.2 bank led by CEO Andrea Orcel launched a surprise 10 billion euro ($10.5 billion) offer for Banco BPM on Monday, saying this deal would take precedence over any potential move for Germany’s Commerzbank.
“As Carl von Clausewitz said, the safest way to lose the war is to engage on two fronts, then who knows,” Giorgetti said, adding UniCredit’s offer had been “communicated but not agreed with the government.”
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said he hoped Orcel’s move was not an attempt to scupper government plans to create a third big banking group in the country alongside industry leaders Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this month paved the way for Rome’s ambitious project by selling a chunk of state-owned Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) to Banco BPM.
“What’s important to me is that Banco BPM and MPS do not get into difficulties,” Salvini told reporters. He leads the co-ruling League party, of which Giorgetti is also a member.
“I thought UniCredit wanted to grow in Germany. I don’t know why it changed its mind,” Salvini added.
UniCredit has recently built a potential 21% stake in Commerzbank, a move that sparked widespread opposition in Germany and speculation about if, when and how it would try to buy all of the Frankfurt-based bank.
Orcel told investors the unsolicited offer had been prompted by Italian banking consolidation heating up after Banco BPM this month bought a 5% stake in MPS and launched a bid for fund manager Anima Holding.
Giorgetti said the government will carefully make its assessments when UniCredit formalises the terms of the bid.
The Italian government could use its powers to set some conditions on the deal, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, while an outright veto would be a tough option as the European Central Bank (ECB) backs bank mergers and EU treaties promote the free movement of capital.
Relations between Orcel and government authorities have been strained since UniCredit walked away from buying domestic rival MPS at the eleventh hour in 2021, forcing the government to seek more time from the EU to return the bank to private investors, sources previously said.
($1 = 0.9508 euros)
(Editing by Keith Weir)
