Mediobanca pulls Banca Generali bid after shareholder revolt
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 21 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - Italian banking group Mediobanca has dropped its €6.3bn takeover approach for peer Banca Generali after shareholders vetoed the plan.
Shareholder votes representing 35% of the share capital were in favour of the deal, while 10% were against and a further 32% abstained.
The bank needed at least half of shareholders to vote in favour to green light the transaction, which was seen as a defensive move to fend off a hostile takeover offer from rival Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (otherwise known as MPS).
As a result, Mediobanca said in a statement that it "declares the offer on Banca Generali lapsed".
"This is clearly an opportunity, for now, missed for the development of our Bank and the Italian financial system," said chief executive Alberto Nagel.
Mediobanca said that the majority of votes against the deal came from major investor, the Caltagirone Group, which is in support of the MPS takeover.
"An opportunity missed as a result of the vote expressed, in particular, by shareholders who also expressed a clear conflict of interest in their engagement activities, putting that relating to other Italian situations/assets before that of Mediobanca shareholders," Nagel said.
MPS's unsolicited offer for Mediobanca runs until 8 September.
Mediobanca shares were down 1.7% at €20.91 by 1237 in Milan, while Banca Generali slipped 2.6% to €49.68.
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