Generali enlists advisers for Mediobanca’s $7.1 billion bid for Banca Generali.

Italy’s top insurer Generali appointed on Thursday Deloitte Financial Advisory and law firm Advant Ntcm as advisers for the bid launched by merchant bank Mediobanca for the private bank Banca Generali.

Mediobanca unveiled a plan to acquire Banca Generali, in which Generali holds a 50.2% stake, in a deal worth 6.3 billion euros ($7.1 billion), last month.

The acquisition would be financed with the shares currently held by Mediobanca in the insurer.

The Italian merchant bank, which is the biggest investor in Generali with a 13% stake, is itself seeking to ward off an unsolicited bid from smaller rival Banca Monte dei Paschi (MPS), as part of a complex web of interconnected Italian finance M&A deals.

Zaoui & Co, Morgan Stanley and BofA will advise Generali’s management team on the Mediobanca offer, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Source: Globalbankingandfinance