(Updates with analyst’s comment in fourth paragraph, shares in last.)
May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Intesa Sanpaolo SpA will sell new shares at about one-fourth less than yesterday’s closing price in a 5 billion-euro ($7.1 billion) offer, as the lender strengthens finances before stricter capital rules are approved.
Intesa will sell stock at 1.369 euros each and offer 2 common shares for every 7 common or savings shares held, Italy’s second-biggest bank said in a statement yesterday. The price is 24 percent less than the theoretical value of the shares excluding the rights.
Investors including Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo, and Fondazione Cariplo, have already said that they will fully subscribe their rights for 24 percent of the offer.
“The stock will be ideally positioned to take full advantage of the cyclical upturn we expect in the Italian banking market,” Silvia Benzi, an analyst at Cheuvreux with a “strong buy” recommendation, wrote in a note today.