The subscription price turns out to be €2 per new share, at a ratio of 374 new shares for every three Mps shares held
Valid subscription rights for the new shares are exercisable from October 17 to October 31
Guarantee contracts signed for up to €857 million. Algebris participates with a stake of 50 million
Mps end investor hunt in overtime. After a weeks-long tug-of-war, the board of directors green light to the 2.5 billion euro capital increase approved by the shareholders’ meeting last September 15. An operation that, as specified in an official note from the Sienese bank, will be “fully guaranteed.” At the same time, Mef commits to subscribing new shares in proportion to its shareholding in Montepaschi, equal to 64.23 percent of the total value of the maxi-increase (or 1.6 billion euros).
The conditions of the capital increase
The Board of Directors meeting, which concluded in the late evening of October 12 under the chairmanship of Patrizia Grieco, also determined the terms of the recapitalization. In detail, the subscription price turns out to be 2 euros for each new share, at a ratio of 374 new shares for every three Mps shares held. Rocca Salimbeni points out that this price incorporates “a discount of 7.79 percent concerning the theoretical ex-rights price of the shares” of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The new shares will be admitted to the listing and traded on Euronext Milan.
Dates to mark on the calendar
Option rights valid for the subscription of the new shares are exercisable from October 17 to October 31 inclusive. They will also be tradable on Euronext Milan from October 17 to October 25. Option rights that were not exercisable by the end of the option period will then be offered on Euronext Milan on the first two days of November. Finally, option rights purchased during the in-option auction will have to be exercised by November 3.
Mps: Algebris pops up among investors.
After a tug-of-war threatened to undermine the eight-bank consortium in recent weeks, guarantee agreements for up to 857 million euros have been signed. Specifically, BofA Securities Europe, Citigroup Global Market Limited, Credit Suisse Bank, and Mediobanca – Financial Credit Bank as joint global coordinators, and Banco Santander, Barclays Bank Ireland, Société Générale, and Stifel Europe Bank as joint bookrunners have committed to subscribe for new shares for 807 million euros. Algebris is participating with a total stake of 50 million euros. Finally, they explain from Mps, that the bank “has received subscription commitments from third-party investors” for 37 million euros. Some investors “have made commitments to the guarantors relating to the subscription of new shares for a maximum amount of more than 50 percent of the share reserved for shareholders other than the MEF.”
Quarterly report slips to November 10, 2022
As a reminder, the launch of the transaction is subject to the green light from Consob, with the issuance of an order approving the registration document, information note, and summary note regarding the offer and admission to the listing of the new shares on Euronext Milan. Concurrently with the release of the official announcement on the maxi-capital increase, Mps also informed the market of a change in the corporate events document for the current year. Specifically, the board’s approval of results for the third quarter will slip from November 3 to November 10. A postponement, Mps points out, made necessary “to allow for the incorporation of the effects resulting from the voluntary redundancy of the bank’s employees (part of the 2022-2026 Business Plan) to the outcome of the capital increase transaction.”
