Unicredit, EU ready to reject Italian government on use of golden power

MILAN – Brussels rejects the golden power that the Italian government opposed to Unicredit on the takeover bid launched by Piazza Gae Aulenti on Banco Bpm . This was reported in a Bloomberg note, which anticipates the decision of the European Union.

Today, after a meeting of the EU Commission, the provision of DGComp, the competition division led by the Spanish Elena Ribera, should arrive, which gives its binding opinion on the golden power issued last April 18 by the Italian government.

This measure will establish, Bloomberg writes, "that the Italian government has no right to influence Unicredit's acquisition of Banco Bpm. According to the rules of the European bloc, only Brussels has the legal power to impose conditions on the operation." On the stock exchange, both stocks have made a leap forward: Banco Bpm at +3.16%, while Unicredit at +1.36%.

Unicredit's offer on Bpm and the golden power

The Prime Ministerial Decree of April 18 had given a green light with prescriptions to Unicredit, imposing very stringent constraints. The exit of the Milanese bank from Russia within nine months, the maintenance in the merged bank of the same deposit/investment ratio as Banco Bpm for three years, the ban on selling Italian government bonds by the subsidiary Anima, to the point of impacting the project financing activity.

The Italian government, led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which is in charge of banking matters, has imposed all this on the basis of the fact that the savings sector is strategic and the requirements serve to protect national security.

Article 21.4 of the European Regulation

In fact, art. 21 paragraph 4 of the European regulation on competition states that member states can intervene only to protect public interests , such as national security. But it is up to the EU and in particular to the DGComp , within the competition procedure, to decide what falls within the scope of national security , also considering that the Italian law on the golden power was greatly expanded in 2020 and 2021 in the years of Covid.

Furthermore, the DgComp provision is immediately enforceable and therefore at this point it is up to the government to appeal, if it deems it appropriate, to the European Court of Justice.

The EU intervention, already expected last week, comes at a delicate moment for the final outcome of the Unicredit takeover bid. Tomorrow, July 9, the TAR meeting is expected to express its opinion on the golden power matter and at this point a postponement of one week could be probable to implement the EU provision .

Then we will see if Andrea Orcel and the Unicredit board of directors will decide to go ahead with the takeover bid, given that the EU decision is immediately enforceable. Or if he will try to reach a compromise with the Italian government that could rewrite the Golden Power provision so as to be compatible with the EU dictate . Even though in recent weeks Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has always been categorical in reporting that the Dpcm cannot be modified.