Following the surprising success of Monte dei Paschi di Siena’s (MPS’) takeover of Mediobanca, Italy’s leading investment bank, Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel announced his resignation last month after 17 years at the helm, ending one of the longest runs for a European banking chief.
Early this year, MPS, the world’s oldest lender, shocked markets by launching a €16 billion hostile bid for Mediobanca, in cash and stock. The deal was completed last month with 86% of shares committed—an extraordinary outcome for an acquisition proposal that had initially left many in disbelief. Founded in 1946 by the “grand strategist of Italian capitalism,” Enrico Cuccia, Mediobanca has been for decades “the powerhouse of Italian finance,” constantly exerting influence on the country’s business landscape. Conversely, until recently, MPS was known for its financial instability, which led to multiple state bailouts. In 2011, Italy paid €6 billion (about $7.04 billion) to rescue the bank. The Italian government now owns about 6% of MPS.
In line with Mediobanca’s culture and tradition, Nagel was a powerful but reserved leader. He led the bank through the 2008-09 global financial crisis, avoiding the public eye and rarely granting interviews. He spent his entire career at the bank, starting in 1991 and gradually taking on increasing responsibilities, until his appointment as CEO in 2008.
In a farewell letter to his colleagues, Nagel described his time at the firm as an “extraordinary journey of growth and renewal,” highlighting Mediobanca’s emergence as “a true public company” and its record of distributing €8.5 billion to stakeholders with a total return of over 500% without ever resorting to a capital increase.
In recent years, Nagel’s leadership attracted criticism from two of Mediobanca’s major shareholders—Delfin, the holding company of the late Luxottica tycoon Leonardo Del Vecchio, and billionaire Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone—who together played a decisive role in the takeover that ultimately ousted him.
“The independence of Mediobanca had always been taken for granted,” observes Paola Biraschi, managing director and banks credit analyst at CreditSights in London. “When MPS came forward, the proposed takeover was expected to fail. Perhaps MPS’s strategic plan and the support of core shareholders, including Delfin, Caltagirone, and the Italian Treasury, had been underestimated.”
Amid rumors of a possible delisting of Mediobanca, the search is now on for a new CEO.
