Monte dei Paschi to sell real estate portfolio to Ardian

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian lender Monte dei Paschi dei Siena said on Wednesday it had signed a deal to sell a portfolio of real estate assets to French private equity firm Ardian by year-end.

The transaction, which is part of restructuring plan agreed with the European authorities, is expected to improve the bank’s CET1 capital ratio by 13 basis points compared with the ratio’s level in March, Monte dei Paschi said in a statement.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Chris Reese)