Intesa gatecrashes the battle for Monte dei Paschi with a surprise $35bn bid

Published Jun 8, 2026 · 08:38 GMT

Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo has launched an unsolicited €30.6 billion ($35.3bn) offer for Monte dei Paschi di Siena — the world's oldest bank — gatecrashing a rival bid by Banco BPM and aiming to create Europe's second-biggest bank by market value. We are awaiting the response of Banco BPM and Italian regulators.

Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa frames its surprise, unsolicited offer as a chance to consolidate Italian banking and build Europe's second-largest lender by market capitalization, betting that scale will outweigh the disruption of gatecrashing a rival's bid for the world's oldest bank.

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