Italian bank confirms potential bid for Generali

Italian bank Intesa San Paolo has confirmed that it is considering the acquisition of Assicurazioni Generali.

Referring to previous rumours in the media regarding a possible M&A transaction with Generali, Intesa explained in a formal statement that it is interested in industrial growth in insurance among other areas in synergy with its banking networks, including through possible international partnerships.

There has been some speculation that German insurance giant Allianz would be joining a potential takeover bid by Intesa. CreditSights analysts said in a note on January 24 that Allianz could be interested in acquiring the assets Intesa did not want. The analysts did, however, also express doubts that such a transaction involving Intesa and Allianz was likely, pointing to the complexity of such a deal, including the competition and anti-trust green lights that would be required.

Nevertheless, the analysts noted that “an acquisition by Intesa could potentially make sense, as the bank would benefit from the strong cash-flow of the insurance business, although combinations of banks and insurers have a mixed track record in Europe.”

Generali has announced that it bought voting rights of 505 million shares in Intesa, equivalent to 3.01 percent of its share capital, which could be interpreted as a temporary defensive move to block a potential hostile takeover, analysts noted.

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