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Unicredit said on Tuesday that it increased its participation in Commerzbank to around 20 percent, since the Italian bank doubles despite the opposition from Berlin for a potential takeover of the second largest lender in Germany.
Unicredit has a 28 percent interest in built Commerzbank Since last year by combining stock buying and derivative transactions.
Before the most recent announcement by the Italian bank, she had an equity participation of 9.5 percent at Commerzbank, with the rest of his 28 percent of the interest being held by derivatives.
In a statement on Tuesday, Unicredit announced that “all the necessary legal and regulatory permits” had received to convert around 10 percent of its current interest to Commerzbank in physical shares.
The step will make Unicredit the largest shareholder in Commerzbank, and the Italian lender said that the permits had underlined the “appropriateness of our actions and our approach”.
The Bank, based in Milan, added that it was planning to convert the remaining exposure to the trade stocks supported by derivative “in a duly course”, which would take over their overall voting rights in German lenders to around 29 percent.
In March, Unicredit said it was secured Approval of the European Central Bank To own more than 9.9 percent of Commerzbank’s shares.
According to German law, every shareholder whose participation in a company exceeds over 30 percent is to start a formal takeover offer – a step that UniCredit has not yet committed.
According to Commerzbank, Unicredits has “no influence on our strategic orientation or ambitions”, and added that it was still geared to carry out its independence strategy.
The managing director of Unicredit, Andrea Orcel, recently suffered setbacks after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil both rejected the idea of a “unfriendly” takeover of Commerzbank, and said that the Lender remains independent.
The Italian government has now imposed Conditions with a possible takeover From unicredit of the local rival Banco BPM.
In a letter sent to the German government in June, which today is the second largest shareholder in Commerzbank with a share of 12 percent, Orcel said that Unicredit wanted to “simply remain as an investor” while it is determined how Commerzbank is developing and does its strategic plan. “
However, he added: “In the future, other options could remain open to us that not only go on and make an offer for the merging of Commerzbank with (UniCredit’s German daughter) HVB to create a new banking power plant for Germany.”
Orcel has already signaled that a full -grown bid by UniCredit for Commerzbank could be delayed by 2027.
A strong increase in Commerzbank’s share price has increased the potential costs of a business – your share has doubled participation in the German lender for the first time in September 2024.
