What's Next Following Monte dei Paschi's High-Stakes Move?

Banca Monte dei Paschi is seeking to buy two separate banks for a combined price of €34 billion ($40 billion) in a defensive move designed to ward off a takeover by rival Intesa Sanpaolo. The Italian lender said it’s launching an all-share bid for Banco BPM valuing it at €25.3 billion and another one for Banca Generali valuing it at €8.7 billion, based on the market close two days ago, according…