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Intesa, UBI line up advisers to face off in takeover battle

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MILAN (Reuters) – Intesa Sanpaolo mentioned on Friday it had employed JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and native dealer Equita SIM to finish a group of advisers led by Mediobanca supporting Italy’s greatest retail financial institution in its takeover supply of rival UBI Banca.

Intesa (ISP.MI) this month unveiled a shock 4.9 billion euro ($5.three billion) bid for smaller peer UBI Banca (UBI.MI), providing 1.7 new Intesa shares for every UBI share tendered to create the euro zone’s seventh-largest banking group with a give attention to asset administration and insurance coverage.

Intesa labored on the supply, the largest European banking deal because the world monetary disaster, with Milanese service provider financial institution Mediobanca, which stays its sole M&A and lead monetary adviser.

Intesa beefed up its group of advisers after a cool reception for its supply from UBI’s board and the outright rejection by two teams of native shareholders holding roughly a mixed 20% of the financial institution’s capital.

A 3rd group of Italian shareholders has but to take a stance on the supply.

An extra rejection could complicate issues for Intesa, which has set a take-up threshold of two-thirds of UBI’s capital for its supply to achieve success – although it reserves the precise to decrease it to 50% plus one share.

UBI, which is working with Credit score Suisse on attainable protection methods, is awaiting the publication of the supply prospectus, attributable to be filed with Italy’s market regulator by the top of subsequent week, to have extra detailed info.

An individual aware of the matter mentioned UBI was set to enlist Goldman Sachs alongside Credit score Suisse because it seeks to fend Intesa off. Goldman declined to remark.

UBI can be working with high Milanese authorized agency BonelliErede, whereas Intesa’s authorized adviser is Pedersoli.

Intesa’s midnight blitz on UBI got here solely hours after Italy’s fifth-largest financial institution had offered its personal marketing strategy to 2022 to the market.

Because the strongest amongst Italian mid-sized banks, UBI has been tipped to play a outstanding function in a long-awaited new spherical of mergers amongst second-tier lenders within the nation.

Sources have mentioned the financial institution needs to retain an lively function relatively than changing into prey and is assessing potential various offers for which it might first want to hunt shareholder approval.

($1 = 0.9201 euros)

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UBS CEO's pay slips to $1 million a month as Swiss financial institution's high bosses pocket $113 million

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ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS Chief Govt Sergio Ermotti, one among Europe’s finest paid bankers, earned 12.5 million francs in 2019, down from 14.1 million in 2018 after the financial institution was hit with a multi-billion-euro courtroom case and it missed earnings objectives.

The world’s greatest wealth supervisor for the wealthy revealed on Friday an government group, presently numbering 13, have been handed money, bonus and shares value 110 million francs ($113 million) throughout the yr.

The quantity contains an 8.2 million francs one-off award for its most high-profile rent of the yr, the brand new wealth administration co-head Iqbal Khan, who was given the sweetener on high of his wage to compensate him for misplaced advantages after shifting from rival Credit score Suisse.

The entire payouts are considerably bigger than these made in 2018 of just about 101 million francs, though the headcount of high administration grew throughout that point. Efficiency-related awards fell 14% per government.

Prime managers have as well as been given loans by the financial institution of greater than 30 million francs, the corporate mentioned.

UNDER PRESSURE

UBS is beneath strain following a conviction in France for serving to rich purchasers evade taxes. The financial institution denies wrongdoing and is interesting in opposition to the ruling that it ought to pay 4.5 billion euros in penalties. A courtroom enchantment is about for June.

Final yr, shareholders on the financial institution’s annual assembly confirmed their frustration by refusing to endorse the efficiency of the financial institution’s management, in a non-binding vote.

Investor proxy advisers additionally criticised excessive administration pay, given the financial institution’s current lacklustre efficiency. Buyers will collect once more on the annual assembly on April 29.

On Friday, the Swiss wealth supervisor unveiled an amended government bonus system, making an allowance for the French tax case, in addition to its shareholder and capital returns.

Payout of 1.5 million francs of Ermotti’s 2019 bonus and seven.three million of total government bonuses can be contingent on the result of the French courtroom case, the financial institution mentioned, whereas additional payout for senior managers would relaxation on reaching returns for shareholders and on capital over three years.

Ermotti is due to get replaced by ING head Ralph Hamers in November. Together with Roche boss Severin Schwan, Ermotti counts amongst Switzerland’s highest paid CEOs and one among Europe’s highest paid bankers.

The previous Merrill Lynch funding banker, who has led Switzerland’s greatest financial institution since 2011, earned plaudits for rebuilding it after a bailout throughout the monetary disaster and a dispute over U.S. tax cheats which tore down Swiss financial institution secrecy.

However UBS missed its revenue and value targets for 2019 and Ermotti pared again a number of the financial institution’s monetary objectives.

Its share worth has halved since a excessive of 22.5 francs in mid-2015, presently buying and selling at a stage final seen in 2012.

“Whereas we’re disillusioned with our share worth efficiency, we imagine the share worth motion in 2019 was considerably impacted by the result of the French cross-border matter and doesn’t replicate the numerous progress made,” the top of the board’s compensation committee, Julie Richardson, mentioned in a letter.

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Elliott targets Twitter, looking for CEO Dorsey's elimination: sources

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(Reuters) – Hedge fund Elliott Administration Corp has amassed a stake in Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) and is pushing for modifications, together with elimination of the social media firm’s chief govt, Jack Dorsey, two folks acquainted with the matter mentioned on Friday.

Twitter is among the few U.S. expertise firms headed, however not managed, by one in every of its founders. It has given shareholders equal voting rights, making Dorsey, who owns solely about 2% of the corporate, weak to a problem from an activist investor equivalent to Elliott.

Twitter shares fell final 12 months when the corporate disclosed that its platform skilled glitches that hindered its skill to focus on adverts and share knowledge with companions. The San Francisco-based firm’s reluctance to broaden past its core platform has additionally left it with restricted scale in comparison with its bigger social media friends.

Elliott, based by billionaire Paul Singer, might be looking for to put in its personal nominees to Twitter’s eight-member board when three of the corporate’s administrators stand for election at its upcoming annual shareholder assembly, the sources mentioned.

It isn’t clear who Elliott would love Dorsey changed with and the way large its stake in Twitter is. The New York-based hedge fund has greater than $40 billion in property below administration, and has focused firms in current months starting from eBay Inc (EBAY.O) to SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T).

The sources requested to not be recognized as a result of the matter is confidential. Elliott declined to remark. Twitter didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Bloomberg Information first reported on Friday on Elliott’s place in Twitter.

Dorsey, 43, is one in every of Silicon Valley’s most distinguished entrepreneurs, and likewise runs Sq. Inc (SQ.N), a cell funds firm he co-founded.

Whereas traders have tolerated this association since 2015, when Dorsey grew to become Twitter’s CEO for the second time, his announcement in November that he wish to transfer to Africa for as much as six months raised questions amongst analysts about his administration.

Dorsey, who helped conceive Twitter in 2006, first served as CEO till 2008, when he was changed by one in every of his co-founders Ev Williams. Williams had accused Dorsey of being a poor supervisor and never focusing sufficient on Twitter’s profitability.

Dorsey returned as interim CEO after his predecessor Dick Costolo stepped down. Dorsey’s data of the corporate and fast launch of recent merchandise satisfied Twitter’s board at hand him the reins on a everlasting foundation a number of months later.

Dorsey is just not the primary CEO to run two main firms. Steve Jobs led Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and animated film studio Pixar for a number of years, whereas Elon Musk runs electrical automobile pioneer Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) and rocket maker SpaceX.

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