ROME (Reuters) – Shares in Italy’s Monte dei Paschi (MPS) fell at market open on Monday, extending Friday’s losses, after the state-backed lender launched a surprise 13.3-billion-euro ($13.9 billion) bid for merchant bank Mediobanca.
MPS shares were down 2% on the Milan bourse at 0802 GMT and those in Mediobanca were down 0.3%, compared to a fall of 0.7% for the Italian banking index. MPS had fallen 6.9% on Friday while Mediobanca was up 7.7%.
MPS’ proposed takeover, the latest move in wave of consolidation in the Italian banking sector, was welcomed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s conservative government but has puzzled analysts and investors.
It came after previous attempts to return Monte dei Paschi (MPS) to the private sector failed.
($1 = 0.9551 euros)
(This story has been corrected to make the share movements clear, by adding Friday’s performance in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Alvise Armellini and Keith Weir)
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