Monte dei Paschi’s profit beats forecasts as Intesa prepares to launch offer

MILAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Italy’s third-largest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) (BMPS.MI), on ​Friday beat analyst expectations with ‌its third-quarter profit as larger rival Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), prepares to launch a ​buyout offer to take it ​over.

• MPS became the target of a €34 ⁠billion cash-and-share bid by Intesa ​in June. Intesa, Italy’s biggest bank, ​will need to break up MPS’s branch network to address competition issues
• Last week ​MPS shareholders rejected a defence ​plan of CEO Luigi Lovaglio after Intesa upped ‌its ⁠offer and threatened to walk away, securing the backing of the Tuscan bank’s biggest investor, Italy’s ​Del Vecchio ​family
• Net ⁠profit in the July-September period rose to €543 million, above ​a €533 million company-provided analyst consensus ​forecast
• Revenue ⁠also topped expectations, at €2 billion
• Intesa is expected to kick off the ⁠tender ​phase of its ​offer in the week of November 23

Reporting by ​Valentina Za, editing by Giulia Segreti