Vitale assisted Banca di Asti in the subscription of a strategic agreement with BCC Pay in the merchant acquiring sector

Rome, 28 January 2025 – Mediocredito Centrale S.p.A. (“MCC”) and Banca del Fucino S.p.A. (“BdF”) announce that they have signed, at the headquarters of Invitalia, the sale and purchase agreement for the transfer of the 85.3% stake held by MCC in Cassa di Risparmio di Orvieto S.p.A. (“CRO”) for a total consideration of €90.4 million (the “Transaction”).

As of 30 September 2024, CRO reported total assets of €1.6 billion, equity of €105 million, loans to customers amounting to €1.3 billion, total customer deposits of €1.7 billion, and a customer base of 63 thousand.

The Transaction enhances the growth undertaken by the MCC Group in 2020 and represents a crucial step in its strategic path.

Thanks to the Transaction, BdF will have the opportunity to expand its customer base, strengthen its territorial network, and improve its offering of banking and financial services in the area, consolidating, in line with its long-term strategic vision, its presence in the territories of Central Italy. The entry of CRO into the BdF Group, both institutions with a long tradition of supporting local economic development, paves the way for a new banking hub capable of effectively responding to the needs of families and businesses.

The completion of the acquisition of CRO by Banca del Fucino will in fact lead to the creation of the first privately-owned LSI banking group in Central-Southern Italy in terms of aggregated banking product, achieving significant synergies among its components, thanks to their geographical proximity and their strong complementarity in terms of products and target customers.

In this context, BdF will ensure the operational autonomy of CRO, promoting its development and strengthening its positioning by enhancing its historic brand, maintaining its headquarters in Orvieto, and preserving a strong strategic presence in the territories of Umbria and Lazio. Furthermore, the utmost attention will be paid to maintaining the employment levels of CRO staff, as well as their economic and regulatory conditions, and to active and continuous collaboration with local institutions with the aim of promoting synergistic initiatives benefiting the area.

The agreement reached highlights a significant enhancement of Cassa di Risparmio and is the result of a transparent competitive process, launched by MCC in 2024, at the end of which BdF was granted exclusivity to negotiate the details of the Transaction. The completion of the Transaction is expected within the first half of 2025, subject to the fulfillment of all conditions precedent set forth in the agreement and the obtaining of approvals from the competent regulatory authorities, including the Bank of Italy and the European Central Bank, and may result in a capital strengthening for MCC of approximately +160 bps on the consolidated CET1 ratio.

For the transaction, Invitalia was assisted by the Advisor Prometeia, Mediocredito Centrale by the Advisor Vitale & Co, and for legal aspects by the law firm Cappelli Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo Del Din & Partners.

Banca del Fucino was assisted by Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division (FIG Origination Corporate Finance & Advisory) and by KPMG Advisory S.p.A., Corporate Finance division, as financial advisors. The tax, financial, and regulatory due diligence was carried out by KPMG S.p.A. Legal advisors were the law firm Avv. Prof. Mario Cera and Lener & Partners Studio Legale.
 

€90,4m