Factbox: Italy's banking shake-up: all the M&A deals since 2025

Mediobanca Banca Di Credito Finanziario SpA

Mon 16:06

    MILAN, June 8 (Reuters) - Intesa Sanpaolo's ISP.MI takeover bid on smaller peer Monte dei Paschi di Siena BMPS.MI would be the latest and biggest transformative deal for Italian banks. Here is a rundown of completed and attempted transactions that have shaken up the sector since the start of 2025. 

1. INTESA SANPAOLO - MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA (MPS) - UNIPOL - BPER - BANCO BPM
Intesa said on Monday that its unsolicited €30.6 billion ($35 billion) cash-and-share bid for MPS would create the euro zone's second-largest lender, placing Italy's top bank behind Spain's Banco Santander SAN.MC in terms of market value.
Under the deal, Intesa would sell to Unipol UNPI.MI about half of the MPS retail network it would receive through the takeover. The network would then be combined with BPER EMII.MI to create a bank that would operate under the MPS brand.
Intesa's bid seemingly sidelined Banco BPM BAMI.MI, which on Sunday had invited MPS to agree to "a merger of equals". BPM's main shareholder is France's Credit Agricole CAGR.PA, with a 20% stake.

2. UNICREDIT - COMMERZBANK
UniCredit CRDI.MI, which stayed out of Italian M&A deals after a failed swoop on Banco BPM, last week said it had increased its direct stake in Germany's Commerzbank CBKG.DE to 34.4%, pursuing a takeover bid meeting strong German resistance. 
The Milanese lender, the second-largest in Italy, approached Commerzbank about merger talks as early as September 2024, after it bought a 9% in the German peer and signalled it was open to taking more.
     
3. CF+ - BANCA SISTEMA
Elliott-backed speciality lender Banca CF+ completed in March a €145-million offer for rival Banca Sistema BSTA.MI. 

4. MPS - MEDIOBANCA 
In September last year, MPS completed a €16-billion takeover of merchant bank Mediobanca, thus also becoming the main investor in insurer Generali GASI.MI, a coveted asset in Italian finance. The deal, coming from a bank bailed out by the government in 2017 and reprivatised in 2023-2024, turned MPS into a key M&A actor.

5. BANCA IFIS - ILLIMITY
Venice-based IFIS IF.MI completed in August 2025 a €298-million cash-and-shares offer for Illimity, a digital bank founded by former industry minister and veteran banker Corrado Passera, which was later delisted from the Milan bourse.

6. BPER - BANCA POPOLARE DI SONDRIO
Italy's fourth-largest bank in July 2025 completed a €5.4 billion cash-and-share offer for the smaller peer based in the northern city of Sondrio, calling it a defensive move dictated by the accelerating consolidation. Insurer Unipol, the main shareholder in both banks, played a pivotal role.

7. UNICREDIT - BANCO BPM
Italy's second-biggest bank dropped its €15-billion all-share offer for Banco BPM in July 2025, blaming conditions the government had set to clear the deal. UniCredit had presented its bid in November 2024.

8. BANCO BPM-ANIMA HOLDING
Shortly before UniCredit's failed takeover gambit, Banco BPM had bid to buy fund manager Anima Holding ANIM.MI, a €1.8 billion-euro acquisition it completed in April 2025.

9. MEDIOBANCA-BANCA GENERALI
In an unsuccessful attempt to thwart MPS' takeover bid, Mediobanca announced in April 2025 a €6.3-billion all-share offer for wealth manager Banca Generali BGN.MI. It failed to win shareholders' approval for it in August.

10. BANCA GENERALI - INTERMONTE
Banca Generali completed in January 2025 a €98.2 million euro purchase of broker Intermonte, to boost its investment banking skills and complement its wealth management offer with corporate finance advisory services.

($1 = 0.8521 euros)


 (Writing by Alvise Armellini
Editing by Gavin Jones)
 ((giulio.piovaccari@thomsonreuters.com))