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Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo is exploring a bid for Spanish private bank Singular, in a move that would represent a rare example of cross-border dealmaking among European lenders.
Intesa, one of Europe’s most valuable banks, had begun due diligence on Singular and was preparing a formal offer as part of a competitive bidding process, people familiar with the matter told the FT.
The move comes as Intesa seeks to boost its presence in wealth management and expand into Spain.
Singular, which is majority owned by US private equity firm Warburg Pincus, is seeking €300mn for the private bank, but Intesa’s offer is expected to be lower than the asking price, one of the people said.
Although European dealmaking has started to rebound, most deals remain domestic because of political and regulatory hurdles.
The talks between Intesa and Singular come as European lenders seek to diversify their income as the boost from higher rates fades.
Intesa, Italy’s biggest bank by assets with a market capitalisation of €97bn, announced plans this year to expand its wealth management business across Europe.
The expansion plan is being spearheaded by longstanding chief executive Carlo Messina, with the lender planning to hire more than 2,300 wealth advisers by 2029, the bank previously said.
While Intesa has maintained a small corporate and investment banking office in Spain for decades, an acquisition of Singular would mark its first significant expansion into the country.
Madrid-based Singular manages about €20bn of client assets, and acquired UBS’s Spanish wealth management business in 2021.
Intesa sat out a flurry of attempted dealmaking in its domestic market in the past 18 months.
Monte dei Paschi di Siena last year acquired larger rival Mediobanca, while UniCredit’s bid to buy Milanese rival Banco BPM was thwarted after Giorgia Meloni’s government intervened, citing national security concerns.
UniCredit — Intesa’s main rival, which is led by veteran dealmaker Andrea Orcel — has also faced opposition from the German government in its attempt to buy Commerzbank.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Europe needs large banks but that his government is opposed to “aggressive” methods in takeover battles.
The identity of other bidders could not immediately be established.
Intesa and Warburg Pincus declined to comment.
