Italian bank UniCredit has agreed to sell 186 branches to a consortium led by Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM) for EUR 747mln, according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. BPM is acquiring 42 branches for about EUR 200mln, while other two banks, Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna and Credito Emiliano, are each investing EUR 150mln to purchase 35 branches, the paper said. Another investor part of the consortium, Banca Carige, will acquire other 30 branches for EUR 140mln. A UniCredit spokesperson confirmed on Thursday to PropertyEU that the bank has launched a bidding contest for the assets, but would not comment further.