Credit Agricole Proposes Merger of Italian Business With Banco BPM
By Dominic Chopping
French bank Credit Agricole said Monday that it has proposed discussions over a possible merger of its Italian business with Italian banking group Banco BPM.
Credit Agricole said the proposal, which has been submitted for evaluation by the Banco BPM board, would see a combined business built around Banco BPM, which would remain listed in Milan.
The French bank would increase its 29.6% stake in Banco BPM to roughly 45% of combined entity, it said.
It added that a combination would create Italy's third-largest banking group, serving 6.5 million customers through more than 2,300 branches.
For the shareholders of Banco BPM, the proposal provides for an exchange ratio that reflects a 20% premium from its stock value, in addition to the payment of an extraordinary dividend of 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) to Banco BPM's current shareholders, Credit Agricole said. Banco BPM shares closed at 13.45 euros on Friday.
Expected synergies are estimated at 800 million euros a year, it said.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 09, 2026 01:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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