German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has come out against a UniCredit takeover of Commerzbank after the Italian lender said it was raising its stake from about 9 per cent to 21 per cent.
UniCredit disclosed on Monday that it had taken a position in a further 11.5 per cent of Commerzbank’s shares, two weeks after it revealed a 9 per cent stake in the bank, half of it acquired from the German government.
Mr Scholz said on the sidelines of a visit to New York on Monday that “unfriendly attacks [and] hostile takeovers are not a good thing for banks and that is why the German government has clearly positioned itself”.
UniCredit chief executive Andrea Orcel has previously said he would not pursue a tie-up with Commerzbank without the government’s support.
Although UniCredit has long eyed Commerzbank as a potential takeover, the emergence of the Italian bank as a major shareholder caught Germany’s establishment off-guard and ignited political opposition against a cross-border tie-up.
After UniCredit’s disclosure on Monday, a government official said that Berlin “supports the strategy of Commerzbank which is geared towards independence”, stressing that “we do not support a takeover, and we have informed UniCredit about this”.
UniCredit’s latest stakebuilding and Berlin’s terse response mark a sharp escalation in an already acrimonious row between Commerzbank’s two largest shareholders.
Mr Orcel made his latest move after Berlin on Friday said it would no longer sell down its remaining 12 per cent holding in Commerzbank as planned, a response to mounting domestic opposition to a takeover.
Although UniCredit needs approval from the European Central Bank to lift its holding above 10 per cent, it has acquired the 11.5 per cent stake in such a way that the trade will not settle until “the required approvals have been obtained”.
However, if it does secure approval, UniCredit will leapfrog Berlin as Commerzbank’s largest shareholder, ratcheting up the pressure on the German government.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani told the Class CNBC network on Monday that UniCredit was “doing well” to act within the EU’s internal market. Rome has signalled it is in favour of a takeover as long as UniCredit’s headquarters remain in Italy.
Shares in Commerzbank, which had lost more than 5 per cent in early trading on Monday, rebounded sharply after UniCredit’s announcement.
The stock is up some 24 per cent since UniCredit built its initial stake earlier this month. Shares in UniCredit lost 2.5 per cent on Monday but are still trading higher than before its stake became public knowledge almost two weeks ago.
A person familiar with the thoughts of Commerzbank’s top management said it was not immediately clear how UniCredit’s latest move fits with Mr Orcel’s earlier statements that he would neither pursue a hostile takeover nor acquire Commerzbank against the will of the German government.
– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024
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