By Valentina Za
MILAN (Reuters) -UniCredit is not discussing a potential tie-up with BPER and its main shareholder Unipol, a spokesperson for the Italian bank said on Wednesday.
UniCredit dismissed rumours about potential negotiations between the parties as “entirely unsubstantiated”.
“We are disappointed with the constant speculation and rumours being circulated,” the UniCredit spokesperson said.
Italian daily La Stampa on Wednesday wrote that UniCredit had turned its sights on BPER, after abandoning a takeover attempt on Banco BPM in July.
The failed move for BPM has left UniCredit sidelined in a round of consolidation sweeping Italian banking.
In May, a report in Il Sole 24 Ore daily mentioned market chatter about UniCredit having bought BPER shares.
“We have an excellent relationship with Unipol and BPER and regularly have conversations at a business level on numerous topics, but there are no active discussions regarding a combination between the two groups,” the spokesperson said.
Citing the need to protect its market presence in the M&A wave, BPER recently acquired regional bank Popolare di Sondrio in a 5.4 billion euro ($6.25 billion) deal.
Unipol is the main shareholder in both BPER and Popolare di Sondrio, distributing its insurance policies through both banks.
Il Sole 24 Ore reported last year rumours that UniCredit was behind a stake in Popolare di Sondrio that investment banks had built using derivative contracts. UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel at the time denied in an interview his bank’s involvement.
Analysts have seen as a defensive move BPER’s recent decision to acquire through derivatives 9.9% of its own capital.
Under the leadership of Orcel, a veteran dealmaker, UniCredit has acquired large stakes in Germany’s Commerzbank and Greece’s Alpha Bank.
Opposition from the German government has so far prevented a deal between Commerzbank and UniCredit’s German unit HVB.
Orcel has said any further move on Alpha would be agreed with the bank and local authorities not to endanger the very good relations UniCredit has developed in Greece.
($1 = 0.8641 euros)
(Additional reporting by Cristina Carlevaro; Editing by Giulia Segreti and Keith Weir)
