Monte dei Paschi recovers from near collapse to bid for Mediobanca 

By Valentina Za

SIENA, Italy (Reuters) - Shareholders in Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) on Thursday approved a new share issue needed to finance a hostile 12 billion euro ($14 billion) buyout offer for Mediobanca.

MPS unveiled the surprise all-share bid in January, shocking Italian finance with a bold move that pitted a lender that for a decade had epitomised the country's banking woes against a former powerhouse that long pulled the strings of Italian capitalism.

Here is a timeline of key events in the recent history of MPS, which was founded in 1472.

NOVEMBER 2007 - MPS spends 9.9 billion euros in cash to buy Antonveneta from Santander, which had bought it only months earlier for 6.6 billion.

JANUARY 2008 - MPS funds the Antonveneta deal by issuing 5.95 billion euros in equity, 2.16 billion in junior debt and a 1.56 billion euro bridge loan.

MARCH 2009 - MPS sells 1.9 billion euros in special bonds to Italy's Treasury to shore up its finances.

JULY 2011 - MPS raises 2.15 billion euros in a rights issue ahead of European banking stress test results.

SEPTEMBER 2011 - The Bank of Italy provides 6 billion euros in emergency liquidity to MPS as the euro zone sovereign crisis escalates.

MARCH 2012 - MPS posts a 4.7 billion euro 2011 loss after goodwill writedowns on deals including Antonveneta.

JUNE 2012 - MPS asks Italy's Treasury to underwrite up to another 2 billion euros in special bonds.

OCTOBER 2012 - Shareholders approve a 1 billion euro share issue targeting new investors.

JUNE 2014 - MPS raises 5 billion euros in a rights issue and repays the state 3.1 billion euros.

OCTOBER 2014 - MPS emerges as the worst performer in Europe-wide banking stress tests.

JUNE 2015 - MPS raises 3 billion euros in a share issue and repays the remaining 1.1 billion euro state underwritten special bond.

JULY 2016 - MPS announces a new 5 billion euro rights issue and plans to offload 28 billion euros in bad loans.

DECEMBER 2016 - MPS turns to the state for help under a precautionary recapitalisation scheme after its cash call fails.

JULY 2017 - After the ECB declares MPS solvent, the EU Commission clears an 8.2 billion euro bailout which hands the state a 68% stake at a cost of 5.4 billion euros.

OCTOBER 2019 - MPS completes Europe's biggest bad loan securitisation deal.

JULY 2021 - UniCredit enters exclusive talks to buy "selected parts" of MPS, a day before European banking stress test results show the latter's capital would be wiped out in a slump.

OCTOBER 2021 - Talks with UniCredit collapse.

FEBRUARY 2022 - MPS names veteran UniCredit executive Luigi Lovaglio as CEO.

OCTOBER 2022 - MPS raises 2.5 billion euro in a cash call at 2 euros a share to fund 4,000 voluntary staff exits. 

NOVEMBER 2023 - Italy cuts its MPS stake to 39.2% in a share placement that meets strong demand at a price of 2.92 euros.

MARCH 2024 - Investors pay 4.15 euros a share as the Treasury cuts its MPS stake to 26.7%.

NOVEMBER 2024 - The Treasury sells 15% of MPS at 5.792 euros a share, bringing onboard construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the heirs of late Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, mid-sized peer Banco BPM, fund manager Anima Holding.

JANUARY 2025 - MPS launches an unsolicited buyout offer for Mediobanca, of which Caltagirone and Del Vecchio's heirs own 27%. 

($1 = 0.8790 euros)

(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Keith Weir)