Mediobanca rejects €13bn takeover offer from Monte dei Paschi

(Sharecast News) - Italian investment bank Mediobanca has rejected a takeover big from state-backed Banca Monte dei Paschi, saying the deal would be "strongly destructive of value". Friday's offer from MPS valued Mediobanca at €15.992 per share, equivalent to €13.3bn, a 5% premium to the stock's closing price the day before.

MPS said the combination of the two businesses would create a "new national champion" in the Italian banking sector, a "best-in-class" wealth management player with a strong corporate and investment banking franchise.

However, responding to the proposal on Tuesday, Mediobanca's board said the offer is "devoid of industrial and financial rationale and is therefore destructive for Mediobanca".

A tie-up would result in a significant weakening of the Mediobanca business model, along with losses of key revenues and clients, and didn't have enough cost synergies since there was no overlap between the two parties' distribution networks, Mediobanca said.

Mediobanca's share price was down 4% at €15.85 in afternoon trade in Milan, while MPS fell 2.3% to €6.21.