Proxy adviser ISS recommended that Monte dei Paschi di Siena shareholders reject proposed offers for Banco BPM and Banca Generali. It also opposed the related capital reduction and €4 billion special dividend. Investors are due to consider the proposals at a meeting on 29 October.
The recommendations concern central elements of Monte dei Paschi’s proposed strategy. ISS supported the planned merger with Mediobanca but opposed the two additional bids and the associated distribution. The bank’s filing confirms the meeting and proposal context, while the recommendation itself was reported by Reuters, ANSA and Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor.
BIDS AND DIVIDEND FACE OPPOSITION
ISS’s position asks shareholders to separate the Mediobanca combination from the proposed approaches to Banco BPM and Banca Generali. Its recommendation also links opposition to the bids with rejection of the capital reduction and special dividend. The advice does not determine the vote’s outcome.
The €4 billion distribution is material because it forms part of the package being put to investors. Shareholders must assess that proposal alongside the two offers and the Mediobanca merger. ISS backed only the Mediobanca component among those strategic measures.
SHAREHOLDERS DECIDE ON 29 OCTOBER
The recommendation gives investors an external view before the scheduled meeting. Reuters, ANSA and Radiocor separately reported the voting advice, while Monte dei Paschi’s filing supplies the formal meeting context. No shareholder decision has yet been made.
The next milestone is the 29 October meeting, when investors are expected to vote on the proposals. The result will show whether shareholders accept ISS’s distinction between the Mediobanca merger and the twin bids. Until then, the offers, capital reduction and dividend remain proposals.