Intesa Said to Be Preparing Bid for Assets of Delta
By Sonia Sirletti
(Bloomberg)
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy’s second biggest bank, is preparing an offer for the performing assets of Gruppo Delta, a unit of Cassa di Risparmio della Repubblica di San Marino, to expand its consumer credit business, two people familiar with the matter said.
Intesa may bid for Delta’s sales networks Carifin SpA and PlusValore SpA, its insurance division Bentos Assicurazioni, and retail lender Sedici Banca within a few weeks, according to the people, who asked not to be identified. They wouldn’t disclose financial details because the two sides are still negotiating.
Intesa, led by Chief Executive Officer Corrado Passera, aims to expand its consumer credit business after exiting a joint venture with BNP Paribas SA last year. Intesa plans to merge Delta assets with its consumer credit unit Neos SpA to create a larger sales network, one of the people said.
‘The deal makes sense for Intesa to create economies of scale,’ Enrico Camerinelli, a banking analyst at Celent, said in a telephone interview. ‘The bank could take advantage of a consumer recovery.’
Intesa may agree to take on about 350 employees, or less than half of Delta’s staff, according to the people.
Seeking to Sell
Gruppo Delta, based in the Republic of San Marino southeast of Bologna, is under Bank of Italy bankruptcy protection after five executives at its holding company were arrested in May on allegations of money laundering. Delta shareholders’ equity, a measure of assets minus liabilities, is about 400 million euros ($558 million), while the company has about 4 billion euros in debts with other financial institutions, one of the people said.
Milan-based Intesa is requesting guarantees related to the toxic assets that Delta holds, including a recapitalization of Cassa di Risparmio di San Marino, and the exclusion of bad loans, people said. The final price of the offer and the guarantees are still being discussed, according to the people.
‘Cassa di Risparmio is available to keep non-performing loans in order to add value to the unit,’ said Tito Masi, chairman of the foundation that controls the bank, in a telephone interview. ‘The bank is doing all it can to sell Delta in order to comply with a Bank of Italy request,’ said Masi, who declined to discuss the negotiations.
An Intesa official declined to comment.
The Italian lender spent three months reviewing Delta’s books, according to Masi. Italy’s central bank met with representatives of Intesa, Delta and the bank’s creditors yesterday to discuss the sale, and a new meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3, the people said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sonia Sirletti in Milan at ssirletti@bloomberg.net