Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena has launched separate all-share takeover bids totalling about €34 billion for Banco BPM and Italian insurer Banca Generali — in a bid to thwart a hostile takeover by Intesa Sanpaolo, Reuters reported.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) CEO Luigi Lovaglio is attemepting to keep the historic bank independent and create Italy’s third-largest lender with the bids, rather than accept Intesa’s €36 billion cash-and-share takeover offer.

Lovaglio said MPS was the “natural partner for ​a friendly aggregation”, adding that the proposed combination would rank among Europe’s top 10 banks. Banco BPM and Banca Generali declined ​to comment on the MPS bids.

MPS also proposed to give its shareholders an extraordinary distribution worth €4 billion, made up of €1 billion ⁠in cash and the remainder in Generali shares owned by the bank.

This would represent around 4.5% of Italian insurer Generali, in which MPS holds ​a 13.3% stake through investment bank Mediobanca, which it acquired last year.

Intesa is offering MPS investors €3 billion in cash as part of its takeover bid.

Analysts at research firm Third Bridge said ​the MPS plan made strategic sense but its timing made it “a purely defensive move” against Intesa’s approach.