UniCredit offers to buy rival Italian lender Banco BPM for $10.5 billion

Italian lender UniCredit on Monday offered to snap up its domestic rival Banco BPM for roughly 10 billion euros ($10.5 billion) in a move it says is separate from its pursuit of German bank Commerzbank.

The move would, if completed, merge two of Italy’s largest lenders. UniCredit said in a statement early Monday that it is offering 6.657 euros for each share — a slight premium on Friday’s close price of 6.644 euros.

UniCredit said the purchase, which would be an all-stock deal, would allow the bank to “further strengthen its role as a leading pan-European banking group.”

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Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Banco BPM.