Crédit Agricole moves to increase stake in Italy’s Banco BPM

Paris: French retail bank Crédit Agricole has entered into financial instruments pertaining to 5.2% of Banco BPM‘s share capital, helping it raise its stake in the latter to 15.1%.

Currently, Crédit Agricole owns 9.9% stake in Italian lender Banco BPM.

Crédit Agricole has expressed its intention to seek approval from the supervisory authority to further increase its stake in Banco BPM’s share capital between 10% and 19.99%.

In a press statement, Crédit Agricole said: “This transaction is consistent with Crédit Agricole’s strategy as a long-term investor and partner of Banco BPM: it strengthens the solid industrial partnerships in consumer finance and in non-life, personal protection and creditor protection insurance, and highlights Crédit Agricole’s appreciation of Banco BPM’s intrinsic qualities, i.e. a solid business franchise with positive financial prospects.”

Despite the increased stake, Crédit Agricole has clarified that it does not plan to initiate a tender offer for the remaining shares of Banco BPM.

The deal is anticipated to have a “non significant” effect on Crédit Agricole’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET 1) capital ratio.

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This move follows UniCredit’s unsolicited €10.1bn ($10.7bn) all-share takeover offer for Banco BPM to consolidate its competitive position and strengthen its foothold within Italy.

The offer valued Banco BPM share at €6.657, representing a 0.5% premium over the stock price on 22 November 2024.

However, UniCredit’s bid was rejected by Banco BPM saying the terms “do not reflect in any way the underlying profitability and the additional potential for value creation for Banco BPM shareholders”.