UBS is advising Monte dei Paschi di Siena on re-privatizing the long-established institution.
The Italian Ministry of Finance has selected UBS, US investment firm Jefferies, and British law firm Clifford Chance as financial and legal advisors for the privatization of the bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).
The commitments agreed to with European Union competition authorities as part of the 5.4 billion euro ($5.7 billion) bailout of MPS in 2017 require Italy to sell its 64 percent stake in the world's oldest bank, «Reuters» reported Friday.
New Attempt
After a failed attempt to sell the Tuscan institution to larger rival UniCredit in 2021, Italy agreed to new privatization terms from Brussels that were never fully disclosed.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti recently said MPS could return to private hands by the end of next year. Giorgetti and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed recently that the government wanted to boost competition among Italian banks by privatizing MPS.
Probable Share Placement
With no interested buyers in the short term, a share placement is considered the most likely option to reduce the state's stake and work toward reprivatization commitments, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
