Investing.com -- Italy’s financial regulator, Consob, has approved UniCredit’s public exchange offer for Banco BPM shares, allowing the formal launch of the deal that could reshape the Italian banking landscape, UniCredit said in a statement on Wednesday.

The approval enables UniCredit to proceed with the voluntary public exchange offer, involving a maximum of 1,515,182,126 Banco BPM ordinary shares.

UniCredit has officially filed and published the Offer Document and the related Prospectus, confirming the details of the offer and its timeline.

The exchange offer, initially announced on November 25, 2024, and later followed by a filing update on December 13, 2024, will see UniCredit issue new ordinary shares through a capital increase approved by its Board of Directors on March 30.

This decision follows the authorization granted at UniCredit’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on March 27, in accordance with Italian corporate regulations.

The offer will be open for acceptance from April 28, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (Italian time) and will close on June 23, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. (Italian time), unless extended under applicable regulations.

The timeframe has been set in agreement with Borsa Italiana S.p.A. in compliance with regulatory provisions.

Under the terms of the offer, each Banco BPM share tendered will be exchanged for 0.175 newly issued UniCredit ordinary shares.

These shares will carry no nominal value but will have regular dividend rights and be identical in characteristics to UniCredit’s existing ordinary shares. Adjustments to the exchange ratio may apply, as detailed in the Offer Document.

If the offer proceeds without extension, settlement will take place on July 1, when UniCredit will issue the new shares to Banco BPM shareholders who participate in the exchange.

Shares of Unicredit (BIT: CRDI ) and Banco BPM were both down over 1% at 03:35 ET (07:35 GMT).