UniCredit dismisses rumours of interest in MPS stake

MILAN, Jan 15 (Reuters) – UniCredit on Thursday dismissed as “speculative in nature and unjustified” rumours of it being interested in buying a stake in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

UniCredit said that it constantly assesses M&A options and that analysis of potential acquisition targets and discussions with relevant parties were no indication that a deal would follow.

Three people close to the matter told Reuters on Monday that UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel had expressed interest in the Monte dei Paschi (MPS) stake held by Delfin during meetings with Francesco Milleri, the head of the Italian holding company.

The sources said UniCredit was also potentially interested in Delfin’s stake in insurer Generali.

UniCredit’s statement said that it was the job of the bank’s internal M&A team to study all possible growth options, including external ones.

“This at any one time will involve discussions with, and assessment and analysis of, the target in question, none of which is indicative of the likelihood of a transaction taking place,” it said.

Italian financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Thursday that a new meeting between Milleri and Orcel could take place as early as this weekend, adding that the Delfin chairman had reservations about the transaction.

In expressing its disappointment about “recent rumours and constant noise” about its alleged interest in the MPS and other stakes, Italy’s second-largest bank said that, at present, these were “pure invention” and served no purpose other than to distort and confuse the market. 

Under veteran M&A banker Orcel, UniCredit has worked to deploy part of its large reserves of capital to buy stakes in Germany’s Commerzbank and Greece’s Alpha Bank, but it has failed so far to clinch a merger.

(Reporting by Valentina ZaEditing by Gianluca Semeraro and David Goodman)