Funds advised by Atlas Merchant Capital, Baupost, Centerbrige and Warburg Pincus delivered a formal bid to Atlante fund, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca‘s main shareholder last September 1st, MF-Milano Finanza, writes today adding that the four bidders are ready to invest one billion euros cash in the new banking group which might arise from the business combination of the two Italian banks. The project, named Power Point, has already been delivered to the European Central Bank and the Bank of Italy.
The news is not a surprise as rumors about a coming bid from the four funds were out on the market since the beginning of July (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
Actually those funds where the same who had started already talks with Atlante about the sale of a stake in Banca Popolare di Vicenza (see here a previous post by BeBeez) and the same who were reasonably thought to be interested in buying a stake in  Veneto Banca too (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
Atlante is the fund managed by Quaestio Capital Maìnagement sgr and sponsored by major Italian financial institutions in order to save distressed banks and help to solve their non-performing loans problem (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Atlante acquired control of the two banks in a capital increase in the last few months (see here a Report on 8 months of private equity in Italy).
The business combination between the two banks sees the agreement of both Mr, Penati and the new top management of the banks. See what Gianni Mion (Pop Vicenza’s chairman) and Beniamino Anselmi (Veneto Banca’s chairman) told to Corriere Veneto.
