UniCredit's bid for BPM also throws a spanner in the works for Italy's government, which had advanced plans for a merger of BPM with rival Monte dei Paschi di Siena which it saw as strengthening its banking sector without harming competition.

UniCredit SpA has hired Deloitte LLP to advise Italy’s second-biggest bank on its takeover bid for Banco BPM SpA, people familiar with the matter said.

The Italian lender rejected the surprise offer from its larger rival, saying it undervalues the business and creates uncertainty.

The Italian Treasury on Friday denied drafting an emergency decree to counter UniCredit's takeover bid for smaller rival Banco BPM after the Financial Times reported Rome was considering this option.

"Italy’s UniCredit makes buyout offer for Banco BPM" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.

(Reuters) -Italian lender UniCredit said on Monday it had offered to buy rival Banco BPM in a stock deal valued at about 10.09 billion euros ($10.57 billion).

Italy's Banco BPM, the target of an unsolicited all-share offer announced by UniCredit, should remain an independent bank, its CEO said in a letter to staff on Wednesday, warning of big job cuts if the deal went through.

Banco BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna has raised concerns over potential job losses in the wake of Italian banking group UniCredit's unsolicited takeover bid, reported Bloomberg citing a letter sent to by Banco to its employees.

ROME, NOV 27 - The CEO of Banco BPM, Giuseppe Castagna, wrote a letter to staff Wednesday saying there would be estimated job losses of at least 6,000 if Italy's second-biggest bank UniCredit succeeds in its hostile takeover bid for the country's third-biggest.