On September 12, 2024, Commerzbank is headquartered in the financial district of Frankfurt, Germany.
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UniCredit announced on Monday it will increase its stake in German banks Commerzbank to about 21%, and submitted a request to increase the shareholding ratio to 29.9%.
The Italian bank said in a statement on Monday that it acquired additional shares in Commerzbank through financial instruments. Earlier this month, UniCredit announced the acquisition of a 9% stake in Commerzbank and confirmed that half of the shares were acquired from the German government.
“UniCredit believes that Commerzbank, whether independent or within UniCredit, can unlock significant value to the benefit of Germany and the bank’s wider stakeholders. However, as is the case with UniCredit, this This potential requires action to be materialized,” the bank said on Monday.
It added that it had hedged the majority of Commerzbank’s exposure to provide UniCredit with “full flexibility and optionality to retain its stake, sell its participation with limited downside, or increase its stake further.” “
The bank said its next steps would depend on engagement with Commerzbank’s management and supervisory board as well as “wider stakeholders in Germany”.
Berlin has been the bank’s main shareholder since Commerzbank injected 18.2 billion euros ($20.2 billion) to rescue the bank during the 2008 financial crisis.
German government officials met on Friday to discuss the state’s stake in Commerzbank. They concluded that the bank is a “stable and profitable institution” whose “strategy aims to achieve independence. The federal government will complement this move by maintaining its shareholding until further notice,” the institution said in a Google Translate stated in the statement.
Commerzbank shares fell sharply in early trading on Monday on the news, but pared losses after UniCredit announced it was increasing its position and applying to acquire more shares.
As of 11:50 a.m. London time, Commerzbank shares were down 0.4% and UniCredit shares were down 2.3%.
The government is likely to play a key role in any potential takeover of the German bank. According to Reuters, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orser told local media last week that his company would make an unsolicited takeover bid to acquire the shares of other investors in Commerzbank, “which would be an aggressive move.” move”.
Orcel also said that the German government’s “trust” in the Italian bank was the reason why it was able to purchase 4.5% of the state’s shares in Commerzbank.
On Monday, UniCredit noted that it has been operating in Germany for almost 20 years and stressed the importance of Europe’s “strong banking union” as key to the group’s economic success.
Analysts hope UniCredit’s measures will encourage more cross-border consolidation in Europe’s banking sector, which tends to appear more fragmented than in the United States
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