Mediobanca set for changes as Bollore pulls out of pact (updated)
27/09/2018 11:42
* Bollore's exit means Mediobanca pact will dissolve
* Bollore to keep 7.9 pct stake for now
* Decision not tied to Bollore's Italy investments-source
* Core investors considering lighter pact - source
(Adds source on lighter pact, analyst)
By Stephen Jewkes
MILAN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - French financier Vincent Bollore
has decided to pull out of a Mediobanca MDBI.MI shareholder
pact after two decades in a surprise move that could make
Italy's most influential investment bank more of a takeover
target.
Bollore, Mediobanca's second biggest shareholder, opted to
withdraw due to his increasing financial commitment to French
media giant Vivendi VIV.PA and a need to keep assets more
flexible, Mediobanca said in a statement on Thursday.
The move, which follows a similar decision by smaller
Italian investor Italmobiliare ITMI.MI , means the shareholder
pact will automatically dissolve on Jan. 1, leaving investors
free to sell their stakes.
However, Mediobanca said Bollore, who holds 7.9 percent of
the merchant bank, had made it clear in a letter he intended to
hang on to the stake.
A source close to the matter said Bollore would remain an
investor, at least for now, adding he would book a small capital
gain in case of a full exit. Based on Wednesday's closing price,
the stake was worth around 645 million euros ($755 million).
A second source familiar with the matter said core investors
at the bank were now considering creating a lighter shareholder
pact without Bollore that could rope in just under 20 percent of
capital.
The pact would remain in force until 2020 when the current
board comes up for reappointment, the source said.
The pact, which 15 years ago accounted for around 60 percent
of capital, currently locks in 28.47 percent.
Bollore's decision to leave the pact would not affect his
other investments in Italy and both he and Vivendi remained
long-term shareholders in Telecom Italia (TIM) TLIT.MI and
Mediaset MS.MI , the first source said.
Vivendi, which has been looking to build a southern European
media giant, is the largest shareholder in TIM but lost control
of the Italian phone group in May to activist fund Elliott.
TIM's share are down 51 percent since Vivendi first invested
in the Italian phone group back in mid-2015, leading the French
investor to write down its stake earlier this year.
It also has just under 30 percent of Mediaset but has got
bogged down in a legal spat with the TV broadcaster controlled
by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
"Given the poor performance of his Italian investments and
uncertainty created by the new populist government, it could be
a first step to reassessing Italy," said IG analyst Vincenzo
Longhi.
CHANGING ROLE
Mediobanca, the leading shareholder in Italy's top insurer
Generali GASI.MI , was for years at the heart of Italian
finance with key stakes in a number of leading companies.
But in recent years it has sold most of those stakes to
focus on traditional banking and plans to sell down its stake in
Generali to help fund its wealth management business.
Last year Generali fended off a takeover bid from Italy's
biggest retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI .
"Bollore's move certainly increases the M&A appeal of
Mediobanca as the pact's grip loosens and prospects improve," a
Milan-based analyst said.
Under the stewardship of CEO Alberto Nagel Mediobanca has
become leaner and more profitable and reported record revenues
in its last financial year.
Other key shareholders in Mediobanca include Italy's biggest
bank UniCredit CRDI.MI , asset manager Mediolanum MED.MI and
the Benetton family's holding company Edizione.
UniCredit, the biggest shareholder with 8.4 percent, has not
announced any decision on its commitment to the pact.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
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BREAKINGVIEWS-Bolloré’s exit leaves Mediobanca exposed
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(Additional reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic in Paris and Paola
Arosio and Gianluca Semeraro in Milan
Editing by Keith Weir)
((stephen.jewkes@thomsonreuters.com; +39.0266129695; Reuters
Messaging: stephen.jewkes.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))