Italian insurer Unipol launched a €4.9 billion cash offer for Banca Nazionale del Lavoro yesterday, trumping rival BBVA and dimming the Spanish bank's chances of success.
Unipol said it would offer €2.7 per share cash for the 59 per cent of BNL it and its allies, including Nomura of Japan and Credit Suisse, do not already own.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's (BBVA) all-stock offer for the 85 per cent not in its hands is currently worth about €2.65 per share.
Analysts said Unipol's bid was likely to stymie BBVA's hopes to become the first foreign group to buy a major Italian bank as the Italian insurer already controls a large chunk of BNL.
"As things stand now, it seems Unipol holds all the cards it needs to control BNL. They are definitely better placed," said Stefano Fabiani, a fund manager at Zenit in Milan. "I don't see that BBVA stands much of a chance given that, between what they already have and their options, Unipol and its allies control almost 50 per cent of BNL."
BNL shares closed up 1.3 per cent at €2.73 euros, above the Unipol offer price. Unipol's own stock initially jumped but later closed down 2 per cent.
Milan traders said some investors were still betting BBVA might sweeten its offer, adding about 15 per cent to its price and relaunching the takeover battle.
