Tag Archives: M.

Italy

Piaggio Aerospace Italia invited five bidders to make purchase bids | Instant News


MILAN (Reuters) – Piaggio Aerospace Italy, which applied for creditors’ protection at the end of 2018, said on Wednesday that it had officially invited five bidders to make a buyout bid for the group.

The deadline for five bidders to submit non-binding bids was set for March 5, the company said in a statement, adding they were interested in buying the group’s aircraft and engine businesses.

Company special administrator Vincenzo Nicastro has sent out the letters as a further step in the company’s sales process, which began last year when Piaggio Aerospace initially withdrew expressions of interest from 19 international bidders.

“Having five applicants on the short list is very positive, especially if we consider that the pandemic has objectively discouraged many foreigners,” said Nicastro.

Nicastro said that a non-binding offer would be assessed by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and then talks would start on arriving at a binding offer.

Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Agnieszka Flak

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Italy

Italy will continue to advance with sales of Monte dei Paschi under Draghi – sources | Instant News


By Giuseppe Fonte, Valentina Za

ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s new government aims to tackle troubled bank Monte dei Paschi by pushing a plan to re-privatize its losing lenders, said sources close to the matter.

FILE PHOTOS: People seen inside the bank of Monte dei Paschi in Siena in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. REUTERS / Max Rossi

Rome spent 5.4 billion euros ($ 6.6 billion) in 2017 to rescue Tuscan banks, leaving the state with a 64% stake. MPS now needs another 2.5 billion euros to rebuild its capital reserves.

A sale would stop the MPS from becoming a permanent taxpayer drain and would allow Italy to fulfill its commitments to the European Union made at the time of the bailout.

With Italy’s change of government, there is speculation that Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, could use his cachet with European authorities to buy more time and delay the sale of MPS.

But a source briefed on the government’s plans said both Draghi and Economy Minister Daniele Franco intend to continue working to seal a merger deal for MPS with stronger rivals.

The prime minister’s office declined to comment.

Finding MPS buyers has proven difficult despite the ample incentives from the Ministry of Finance to sweeten the deal.

Italy has negotiated the sale of MPS to UniCredit but a change at the helm of Italy’s second-largest bank has halted talks.

New UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel, who started his job after mid-April, may prefer other options in Italy’s consolidated banking sector, sources said.

With the sales prospect fading in the near future, MPS auditors have expressed concern about the bank’s financial future, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

The MPS is working to ensure auditors sign off on its accounts, a formality required for Thursday’s board meeting, the people said.

MPS declined to comment.

Annual losses at Tuscan banks jumped more than 60% to 1.7 billion euros last year.

Reported by Giuseppe Fonte in Rome and Valentina Za in Milan. Edited by Jane Merriman

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Australia

Macquarie Australia teamed up with Aware Super for the $ 2.71 billion purchase of Vocus | Instant News


(Reuters) – Australia’s Vocus Group said on Tuesday that the Macquarie fund had agreed to partner with pension fund Aware Super to take over A $ 3.42 billion ($ 2.71 billion) from fiber network owners.

Two weeks ago, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets Holding (MIRA) made a non-binding offer of A $ 5.50 per share, one of at least three approaches for Vocus since 2019.

Melbourne-based Vocus said bid terms had not changed since Feb. 8 and the consortium was still conducting due diligence.

Neither Aware Super nor MIRA immediately responded to requests for comment from Reuters.

Vocus shares fell 0.2% to A $ 4.97, nearly 10% of the bid price in the early trading hours.

MIRA is part of the Macquarie Group asset management unit.

($ 1 = 1.2637 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Edited by Arun Koyyur

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Australia

Bank of Queensland Australia increased with the purchase of ME Bank for $ 1.1 billion | Instant News


(Reuters) – Bank of Queensland Ltd will buy ME Bank, a digital lender owned by 26 industrial pension funds, for A $ 1.33 billion ($ 1.05 billion), the couple said on Monday, as tier lenders second moved away from the leadership of Australia’s “Big Four” Bank.

The deal will double the size of the regional bank’s Brisbane-based retail branch, take deposits to more than A $ 56 billion, and increase the division’s contribution to revenue to more than 50% from 36%, said the BoQ.

Even with the deal, the BoQ will still lag far behind the Big Four banks, which control about three-quarters of the lending market and have weathered the pandemic better than some other international banks.

The smallest of the four, the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group, has deposits of more than A $ 320 billion according to December data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

ME Bank chairman James Evans said the deal “represents a permanent change for the better in the Australian banking landscape.”

ME Bank pension fund backers, including the country’s biggest Australian Super, are backing the deal, he said.

The BoQ will fund the deal through an A $ 1.35 billion equity increase at A $ 7.35 per share.

“This is a defining acquisition in our ongoing BoQ transformation,” Chief Executive George Frazis said in a statement.

BoQ’s digital capabilities also benefit as large banks increase their digital presence or partner with fintech companies.

ME Bank, founded in 1994, posted a principal profit of A $ 123.9 million in fiscal 2020 with book loans of A $ 25.5 billion and deposits of approximately A $ 17.2 billion at the end of June.

In the attached trade update, the BoQ said it expects half-year cash profit growth from 8% to 10%, while loan delays have decreased.

($ 1 = 1.2702 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Edited by Peter Cooney and Richard Pullin

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Australia

Bank of Queensland Australia increased with the purchase of ME Bank for $ 1.1 billion | Instant News


(Reuters) – Bank of Queensland Ltd will buy ME Bank, a digital lender owned by 26 industrial pension funds, for A $ 1.33 billion ($ 1.05 billion), the couple said on Monday, as tier lenders second moved away from the leadership of Australia’s “Big Four” Bank.

The deal will double the size of the regional bank’s Brisbane-based retail branch, take deposits to more than A $ 56 billion, and increase the division’s contribution to revenue to more than 50% from 36%, said the BoQ.

Even with the deal, the BoQ will still lag far behind the Big Four banks, which control about three-quarters of the lending market and have weathered the pandemic better than some other international banks.

The smallest of the four, the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group, has deposits of more than A $ 320 billion according to December data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

ME Bank chairman James Evans said the deal “represents a permanent change for the better in the Australian banking landscape.”

ME Bank pension fund backers, including the country’s biggest Australian Super, are backing the deal, he said.

The BoQ will fund the deal through an A $ 1.35 billion equity increase at A $ 7.35 per share.

“This is a defining acquisition in our ongoing BoQ transformation,” Chief Executive George Frazis said in a statement.

BoQ’s digital capabilities also benefit as large banks increase their digital presence or partner with fintech companies.

ME Bank, founded in 1994, posted a principal profit of A $ 123.9 million in fiscal 2020 with book loans of A $ 25.5 billion and deposits of approximately A $ 17.2 billion at the end of June.

In the attached trade update, the BoQ said it expects half-year cash profit growth from 8% to 10%, while loan delays have decreased.

($ 1 = 1.2702 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Edited by Peter Cooney and Richard Pullin

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