Italy’s Banca Popolare di Milano is to merge with its rival in the Italian domestic market Banco Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna to create the sixth-largest bank by market value in the country.
Under the terms of the all-share $7.33 billion deal, Banco Popolare di Milano will offer 1.76 of its shares for each Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna share.
The new venture is estimated to have a market capitalization of $16.7 billion, with total assets of $144.55 billion and 1,900 retail branches throughout northern Italy.
Meanwhile, its market share is expected to stand at 5.9 percent.
News of the deal coincides with Capitalia and Unicredit agreeing a $29 billion all-share merger to create the third-largest bank in Italy and marks another step toward increasing consolidation in the Italian banking market.
Other significant mergers in the Italian banking sector have included Banche Popolari Unite’s deal with Banca Lombarda to form Unione di Banche Italiane, and Banco Popolare di Verona e Novara’s acquisition of Banca Popolare.