trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/yyaphxisaizusovv1yfxug2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Italian vehicle raises €600M, short-lists 5 banks for possible acquisition

Podcast

Street Talk Episode 87

Blog

A New Dawn for European Bank M&A Top 5 Trends

Blog

Insight Weekly: US banks' loan growth; record share buybacks; utility M&A outlook

Blog

Banking Essentials Newsletter 2021: December Edition


Italian vehicle raises €600M, short-lists 5 banks for possible acquisition

A new company set up by a pair of long-time Italian bankers has formed a short list of five small Italian lenders to acquire and turn into a small-business focused online bank, Reuters reported Feb. 1, citing the company.

SPAXS raised €600 million in an IPO that saw it listed Feb. 1 on the Milan exchange's alternative investment segment. The company will use 10% of the funding it raised to acquire one of the banks, spending the remainder on investments and to recapitalize the bank it purchases.

Co-founder Corrado Passera, a former Italian economy minister and ex-CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, said SPAXS hopes to complete its acquisition "in the next three, four months." Also involved in the venture is Andrea Clamer, who was formerly head of the nonperforming loan division of Banca IFIS SpA, Reuters noted.

In addition to small-business lending, SPAXS plans to set up a restructuring and NPL division to aid struggling companies.