Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The general prepares the response to the Intesa – The Sun 24 Hours

The case for Intesa Sanpaolo comes on the table of the board of directors of the General. The board, convened in the first instance, for today, to put the seal on a change of governance with the exit of the director-general, Alberto Minali and the potential appointment of Luigi Lubelli to the cfo, now is confronted with the delicate question of the possible assault by the Lion on the part of the Ca' de Sass. Spectrum that has been confirmed yesterday, after the official note of Intesa Sanpaolo: “the Possible combinations of the industry with General Insurance are the subject of on-going evaluations by management”. A statement that, according to circles close to the company, took by surp rise the first lines of the group, the more “surprised that we’re talking about the possible aggregations without, however, that there has been no contact with the person concerned”.

To all this, the Lion has tried to contradict this by entering in the share capital of the bank, with a share of 3% but, of course, the move might prove to be totally useless in the face of a Ops of Intesa Sanpaolo. Not only. The fear, widespread, is that now the company may be subject to hostile takeovers and also by foreign groups, such as Allianz, Axa, Zurich. All subjects that, until now, are being moved under the track to better understand the possible room for manoeuvre, but in this moment, with the help of the current phase of uncertainty, you may decide to give an acceleration to the dossier. This, but, above all, of the possible thrust of Ca' de Sass, and of the reasons which prompted the General to the castling to Intesa Sanpaolo, will speak today during the council. In particular, by clarifying the terms of the transaction to the members of the board, especially the independent ones. In view, however, of hearing the Consob Thursday. Tomorrow, in fact, the Lion will have to explain to the people of Vegas because it has built a similar position on the basis of rumor, which at that time had not yet found official confirmation.

But those rumors never denied, and yesterday proved true, have pushed the company to take action in defense of some of the principles that the group considers fundamental principles: Italian, international profile and independence. This is General and this is what the management and the company wanted to preserve upon entering a surprise in the capital of Intesa Sanpaolo, with a share of 3,01%. It is in these terms that, in the circles close to Trieste, we can explain the criteria of the raid made by the insurance group on the bank. A defensive operation is justified, it is added, by the fact that attempts to open a channel of communication with the Ca ‘ de Sass, downstream of the rumors, who wanted the institute ready to launch an attack to the control of the General, they went to vacuum. A move too aggressive, and mainly to block any operation of stake-building, the institute had in mind. In short, given the principles stated above and reaffirmed the fact that, as written in the plan of 23 November last, the General is not hunting capital of the members, the ball is now back in the field of Intesa Sanpaolo. Any what the institute has in its program, that it is the dreaded public exchange offer on the General rather than on Mediobanca, must in any case explain that today Consob. The Commission has decided to convene between now and tomorrow, Generali, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit. The first, as said, was called because the men of Giuseppe Vegas intend to shed light on the reasons that led the group to choose the package of the 3% in the Ca' de Sass by taking the norms on cross holdings, which prevents the institute from rising more than 3% in the insurance group. And in virtue of this, the crucial may be the tecnicalità of the operation.

The contract, managed by Mediobanca, in fact, is "open-ended". This means that the group can return the securities at any time it deems most opportune, paying only the commission. The latter, as it turns out, is also in line with the conditions of the market for maneuvers of this type. The concept, in any case, is that the company does not intend to enter into real possession of those actions, of 505 million securities with a value close to 1.2 billion, if it does not prove to be really necessary. A sort of option, therefore, exercised to erect a fence that now Intesa Sanpaolo will be able to overcome only through a public exchange offer on the General or on Mediobanca.

The whole thing to try to create a sample in the bank insurance sector, but also in asset management. And it is precisely on these aspects has focused the note published yesterday ins erata from the bank: “In line with the Business Plan 2014-2017, reaffirms its interest for the industrial growth in the field of asset management, private banking and insurance, in synergy with its banking networks, also with the potential for international partnerships”. But of course, in the event it goes ahead, the mega rehabilitation, the first implications would be on Italy. According to the data In the Ania 2015, the General total to first place in the country with awards to 25.6 billion euros and a market share of 16.4%. Intesa Sanpaolo follows with 21.9 billion and a share of 14.1%. In Life is meant to have primacy, with prizes for 21.7 billion and a market share of 18.3%. The General followed, with 19.5 billion and 16.4% of the marke t. And it is here that potentially could open up issues of anti-trust while in the Damage, where the Generals are in second place with 6 billion and a market share of 16.5%,the Intesa group is twentieth with 285,8 million prizes and the 0,78% of the market.

© Reproduction reserved

No comments:

Post a Comment