Credit Agricole SA Chief Executive Officer Olivier Gavalda said the firm rejected Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s bid for Banco BPM SpA.
“We decided” not to offer its shares into the bid, Gavalda said Thursday at a press conference in Frankfurt.
The plan of Monte Paschi CEO Luigi Lovaglio to pursue separate bids for Banco BPM and Banca Generali SpA suffered a heavy blow earlier on Thursday when a top investor, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, said he’s opposed. Two other important Monte Paschi shareholders, the holding companies Delfin and Edizione, have made similar statements, bringing the total share capital opposed to Lovaglio’s proposals to almost one-third.
That will make it very difficult for the Monte Paschi CEO to achieve the two-thirds majority he needs at an Oct. 29 shareholder meeting to go ahead with his deals.
Credit Agricole owns just under 30% in Banco BPM, making it the largest shareholder. The French bank has said it would prefer a merger with the Italian lender with its own operations in the country.
Read More: Credit Agricole Awaits Paschi Clarity Before Possible BPM Bid
Credit Agricole has been weighing a range of options for Banco BPM including a potential acquisition, people familiar with the matter said previously. Gavalda was waiting for the outcome of the Oct. 29 meeting before making a decision on the matter, they said at the time.