MPS investor Norges to oppose Monte dei Paschi's bids to buy Banco BPM and Banca Generali

MILAN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway's sovereign wealth fund manager, will vote against Monte dei Paschi's proposed bids to buy Banco BPM and Banca Generali, it said on Saturday.

The fund manager, which held a 2.98% stake in MPS at the end of December 2025, will also vote against the proposed merger of Italian merchant bank Mediobanca into Monte dei Paschi, the sovereign wealth fund said on its website.

• MPS investors meet on October 29 to vote on CEO Luigi Lovaglio's defence plan against a takeover offer by Intesa Sanpaolo

• Norges will also vote against the proposed distribution of an extraordinary dividend from reserves

• Its statement said it will instead approve the share buyback programme and the buyout of the shares Mediobanca holds in insurer Generali

• Norges Bank Investment Management said its decisions were based on its voting principles according to which "mergers, acquisitions and other corporate transactions should maximise shareholder returns"

(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro and Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Barbara Lewis)