UniCredit’s BPM Curveball Leaves Meloni Scrambling on Banking Plan
- Takeover bid greeted with bafflement by officials in Rome
- Deputy Premier Salvini says he isn’t happy about the bid
Giorgia Meloni
Photographer: Simon Wohlfahrt/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
UniCredit SpA’s surprise bid for Banco BPM SpA has left Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government struggling to work out if its plans to create Italy’s third major banking group are now defunct.
Several officials contacted by Bloomberg expressed bafflement at Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel’s unexpected move to offer €10 billion ($10.5 billion) in an all-share bid for its smaller domestic rival, questioning what his motives for such a transaction might be.