To bluff or not to bluff

21 Sep 2006 By Pierre Briancon

The French bank wants to broaden its presence in Italy before it gives the green light to the IntesaSanpaolo merger. Agricole wants Cariparma and full control of Nextra. If any sidedeal isn’t transparent, other shareholders will feel shortchanged.

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Banca Intesa and Credit Agricole are actively negotiating the terms of the deal that would pave way for the French bank to greenlight the planned merger between Intesa and its Italian competitor Sanpaolo.

Agricole has an 18% stake in Intesa and a veto power in the shareholders pact controlling 40% of the bank.

Credit Agricole is interested in swapping its stake for the 600to1000 branches, mostly in Northern Italy, that would have to be sold for the merger to go ahead. It would also be interested in developing the business of its assetmanagement division Nextra, in which Intesa holds a 35% stake.

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