Italy’s Monte dei Paschi says ECB has approved Mediobanca takeover

Monte dei Paschi di Siena announced that the European Central Bank approved its €13.3bn takeover of Mediobanca, despite initial expectations for shareholder hurdles due to cross shareholdings. Mediobanca, which rejected the offer as contrary to its interests, has postponed a shareholder meeting for a competing acquisition, while MPS plans to report to the ECB on its control of Mediobanca if investor backing falls below 50%.

Explain It To Me Like I’m 5: Monte dei Paschi di Siena got the green light from the European Central Bank to try and buy a bigger bank called Mediobanca, even though Mediobanca doesn’t want to be bought.

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