MILAN, July 2 (Reuters) - State-backed Italian bank

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena said its bid for rival

Mediobanca would start on July 14 after the country's

markets watchdog approved the offer document for investors.

Monte dei Paschi also said it had received unconditional

approval from Italy's antitrust authority for the deal.

Monte dei Paschi emerged from years of restructuring,

following a 2017 state bailout, and shocked Italy's financial

world in January with a bid for the bigger rival.

The deal would bring together Monte dei Paschi's commercial

franchise with Mediobanca's branchless business focus on wealth

management, corporate and investment banking and consumer

finance.

Mediobanca, one of the most revered names in Italian

finance, has been fighting the takeover offer which it deems

hostile.

Monte dei Paschi last week secured European Central Bank

approval for its bid, including under a scenario where it would

own less than 50% of the rival's capital.

That boosts the chances of success of its offer given that

its top two shareholders, Italy's Del Vecchio and Caltagirone

billionaire families, are also the top investors in Mediobanca

with a combined 27% stake which they are expected to tender.

Monte dei Paschi said the offer would run until Sept. 8,

meaning Mediobanca shareholders have eight weeks to tender their

shares.

In an attempt to thwart the Monte dei Paschi takeover,

Mediobanca has proposed acquiring Banca Generali and

focusing on wealth management.

However, Mediobanca last month had to postpone to Sept. 25 a

shareholder vote to approve the Banca Generali bid because it

risked failing to secure sufficient backing after some key

shareholders decided to abstain, and others who oppose the

project increased their holdings ahead of the vote.