Intesa’s UBI Bid Faces Italian Antitrust Hurdles

Italy’s Antitrust Authority cannot clear Intesa Sanpaolo’s offer for rival UBI for now because of uncertainties over a planned asset sale aimed at solving competition issues, a document showed on Tuesday, June 9.

In the document seen by Reuters which summarises the watchdog’s preliminary findings on the proposed takeover, the regulator stated it had not been able to take into consideration an accord between Intesa and BPER Banca.

Intesa has signed a binding agreement with BPER to sell 400-500 branches and €20 billion (US$22.68 billion) in assets as it seeks to take over UBI to create the Euro zone’s seventh-largest banking group.

“The (UBI) transaction can strengthen or create a dominant position for Intesa in numerous markets … reducing competition … in a significant and lasting way given the high market share and concentration, with a significant gap versus the second-biggest player in each area,” the document stated.

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit Italy, Intesa announced it was ready to accept a lower price from BPER to see the deal through.

The regulator stated it was not clear exactly which branches BPER would be buying and there were areas not affected by the deal which posed antitrust problems.

Full Content: Reuters

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