Banca Carige may seek merger with BPM following capital increase - report (translated)
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Banca Carige, the listed Italian lender, could seek a merger with peer Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM) after it completes its capital increase of EUR 500m-EUR 650m, Italian-language daily Milano Finanza reported.
The unsourced article said a merger between the two banks could be opened by Andrea Bonomi, the head of private equity firm Investindustrial, subscribing to a significant part of the Carige capital increase. The report noted Bonomi was recently chairman of BPM.
The most likely scenario would involve BPM taking a stake in Carige through a reserved capital increase in the second half of 2015, the item noted.
The Bank of Italy is likely to look favourably at the operation, and with its support plus the fact that Carige would be recapitalised could prove to be factors in favour of BPM agreeing to a merger. BPM and Carige do not have significant geographical overlap, which would make the merger easier, the article added.
Source Milano Finanza daily edition