Two prominent financial institutions in Italy – Mediobanca and Banca Generali – may merge as a result of a $7 billion deal, significantly expanding the buyer’s wealth management capabilities.
A leading Italian investment bank, Mediobanca, on Monday announced a €6.3 billion ($7 billion) bid to acquire Banca Generali, a top private bank in Italy, specialising in wealth management for high-net-worth individuals.
The move is seen not only as a way to enhance Mediobanca’s wealth management division but also as part of the strategy to counter a takeover attempt by Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). Italy’s oldest bank made a €13.3 billion ($14 billion) all-share hostile takeover bid for Mediobanca, intending to consolidate the national banking sector and eventually become one of its top 5 largest players.
Today, MPS ranks 7th in the rating of local banks based on total assets. The largest bank in the country is Intesa Sanpaolo, with €1,041.53 billion. It has recently expanded its cooperation with BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, for further scaling up activities in Europe.
While the Italian government is supportive of the merger, seeing it as a step toward creating a more robust banking system, Mediobanca’s board has rejected the unsolicited bid, labelling it as destructive. A group of Mediobanca shareholders also supported the bank’s rejection.
With the prospective acquisition, Mediobanca may strengthen its market position and gain additional certain strategic advantage against the proposed consolidation.
The bank aims to finance the Banca Generali deal with the sales of its 13% stake in Assicurazioni Generali, one of the largest insurance companies in the world.
Offloading the Generali holding not only raises cash for strategic reinvestment without the need to the need to issue new equity or take on large amounts of debt, but also makes Mediobanca a less attractive takeover target. The bank will have fewer large, non-core assets and less dependency on passive, long-term investment. Instead, it will shift to capital-light, fee-driven wealth-management services, which might bring higher returns.
As of December 31, 2024, Banca Generali reported total assets under management of €103.8 billion (about $117,8B), up almost 12% year-on-year. At the same time, Mediobanca managed total financial assets (TFAs) of approximately €107 billion, with over 70% (about €75 billion) classified as assets under management (AUM) or assets under administration (AUA). Its wealth management deposits made up €28,2 billion by the end of 2024.
The proposed acquisition would more than double Mediobanca’s AUM, potentially turning it into one of the top-tier wealth managers in Europe. That aligns with the bank’s 2023–2026 plan to expand its wealth management division, aiming to reach €115 billion in TFAs and €85 billion in AUM/AUA by June 2026
Mediobanca’s shareholders will vote on the proposed acquisition in June. If agreed upon, the transaction is expected to be finalised by the end of October 2025, pending regulatory approvals.
