Intesa Sanpaolo, an Italian banking group, offered to acquire UBI Banca, an Italian banking group, for $6bn. Intesa offered 1.7 newly issued shares for every UBI share tendered to create a European-sized player focused on wealth management and insurance, with more than $1.2tr in customers’ financial assets. “Our industry, at a European level, has entered a phase that requires greater scale, increased investment capacity and a focus on socially sustainable finance,” Carlo Messina, Intesa Sanpaolo CEO. UBI secures 90.2% shareholder backing for the UBI takeover on July 30.