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Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena has offered to buy rival Italian lenders Banco BPM and Banca Generali for a combined €34 billion in stock. The two offers aren't "conditionally linked," which means that either could happen without the other.
Why it matters: Banca Monte has been trying to repel a takeover by Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo. This new effort could make Intesa's bid look more anticompetitive.
Zoom in, via WSJ: "Italy's government has said it wants to see a third national champion in banking, after Intesa and UniCredit, and doesn't want Monte dei Paschi to be broken up. By casting itself as a domestic behemoth under the proposed three-way tie up, Monte dei Paschi improves its position to be more than a pawn."
