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Mediobanca launched a surprise €6.3 billion ($7.2 billion) offer for the wealth management arm of Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA, opening a potential defense strategy for the Milan-based bank amid Italy’s intensifying deal wave.

Mediobanca, which itself is facing a takeover bid from Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, is offering to pay for the deal by swapping its shares in Generali, it said in a statement early Monday. Mediobanca is currently the largest shareholder in Banca Generali’s parent.

Through its influence over Generali, Mediobanca under Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel has become a key player in the interlocking series of deals unfolding in Italy since last year. The offer for Banca Generali gives shareholders a further option for growth other than the Monte Paschi deal, which the bank opposes.

A divestment of that stake would make Mediobanca a less interesting asset for some other key actors involved in the deal wave. It would also address previous criticism from some shareholders that the stake serves little strategic purpose.

Banca Generali shares gained as much as 9.6% after the open in Milan on Monday. Mediobanca shares were up 1%.

The exchange ratio for Generali bank shares has been set at 1.70 Assicurazioni Generali shares, ex-dividend, according to the Mediobanca statement.

For years “we have considered Banca Generali as the best M&A opportunity,” Nagel said on a conference call with analysts on Monday. It would allow the company to accelerate its strategic shift to wealth management, he said.

Italy’s finance sector has been abuzz with deal chatter since early November when lender Banco BPM SpA launched a bid for asset manager Anima Holding SpA. Banco BPM become a target itself a few weeks later when rival UniCredit SpA made an offer.

That’s spurred on other firms as lenders look to shore up their positions in the fragmented market. Monte Paschi subsequently made its move on Mediobanca, while BPER Banca SpA is bidding for Banca Popolare di Sondrio SpA.

Mediobanca will call a shareholder meeting on June 16 to get investor approval for the bid. The deal would offer Mediobanca a boost to return on tangible equity, a key profitability metric, to 20% from 14% currently. The bank also said it would target savings of some €300 million.

Nagel has said in the past that Mediobanca was ready to look at acquisition opportunities in wealth management to speed up growth — and in the event of a transformational deal he would be ready to sell the bank’s stake in Generali.

A previous attempt by Nagel to take over Banca Generali in 2020 failed after the insurer decided not to sell its banking and wealth management unit, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Top photograph: Mediobanca Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel; Photo credit: Giuliano Berti/Bloomberg