BlackRock has strengthened its position in Intesa Sanpaolo, which is pursuing a public exchange and tender offer (OPAS) for Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). According to the latest shareholder disclosure, as of October 15 the US asset management giant held an aggregate stake of 7.298% in Intesa's share capital. Its holding of ordinary shares was listed at 6.706%, equivalent to more than 1.16 billion shares. BlackRock is Intesa's largest shareholder among investors with stakes exceeding 3%, ahead of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, with 6.658%, and Fondazione Cariplo, with 5.547%. These holdings include investments managed on behalf of clients and do not necessarily represent direct investments aimed at gaining control of the bank. The disclosure comes as Intesa presses ahead with its offer for all MPS shares, announced in June. On October 3, the bank increased the cash component by €0.25, from €1 to €1.25 per MPS share, while maintaining the exchange ratio of 1.6 Intesa shares for each MPS share. Based on the reference prices cited by Intesa, this brought the offer value to €10.341 per MPS share. On October 19, Intesa's board approved the capital increase intended to finance the offer.