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MILAN (Reuters) – Italian market regulator Consob is expected to approve the document for Intesa Sanpaolo’s ISP.MI exchange offer for rival UBI Banca UBI.MI next week, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
Intesa filed the investor prospectus for the offer with Consob late on Friday after including the outcome of a key hearing it held with Italy’s antitrust authority the previous day, the person said.
The bid unveiled by Intesa in February to create the euro zone’s seventh-largest banking group had run into difficulty with the competition watchdog, which expressed concerns that the tie-up would strengthen Intesa’s dominance in many areas.
To solve the impasse Intesa submitted stepped-up antitrust remedies on Monday, increasing the size of the business it has agreed to spin off if the offer goes through.
Consob will now review the prospectus filed by Intesa, which will be included in the offer document, and is expected to approve them both in the course of next week, the person said.
Consob declined to comment.
Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Jan Harvey
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