Surprisingly, Italy’s major bank UniCredit has acquired a 9% stake in Commerzbank. And apparently the Italians want more. The employee representative is surprised.
Italy’s UniCredit has surprisingly reached out to Commerzbank. The Italians have used the federal share sale to acquire 9% of the second-largest German listed bank. At the same time, they have expressed interest in expanding their commitment. UniCredit already has a strong presence in Germany through Munich-based HypoVereinsbank.
The Federal Government announced the sale of the 4.49% package on Tuesday evening. Today, the Treasury announced that the entire package was handed over to UniCredit, which submitted the highest bid of €13.20 per share. The Treasury estimated the proceeds of the transaction at €702 million. It is said that in the financial world, it is very unusual for everything to go to one buyer. UniCredit as a buyer is also very surprising.
“Discussion of Value Addition Opportunities”
UniCredit said that in addition to the federal government package, the bank has acquired additional shares in the market and now holds a 9% stake in Commerzbank. It will discuss options to increase shareholder value in both banks with its German rival. If necessary, it will seek regulatory approval to increase its stake to more than 9.9%.
This sparked speculation on the stock market that Commerzbank could be acquired, with shares briefly rising more than 17% in the morning.
Will the federal government allow the takeover?
If UniCredit does indeed seek to take control of Commerzbank, the federal government will have a key role to play. A spokesman for the FDP-led finance ministry said that “the federal government is sticking to the principle of economic efficiency” when it comes to selling the package to the highest Italian bidder. It is unclear whether this also applies to the approximately 12% of Commerzbank that remains in the federal government’s hands.
The state is said to want to fully reduce its stake in Commerzbank, which it acquired after the 2008/2009 financial crisis, but there is likely to be a wide-ranging antitrust review before UniCredit can intervene further.
Ver.di wants to defend himself “at all costs”.
Employee representatives have expressed concern about the latest developments at Commerzbank. Stefan Wittmann, general secretary of the Ver.di union and a member of the Commerzbank supervisory board, told the “Handelsblatt” that they will defend themselves “with all the means at their disposal.” He was referring to UniCredit’s takeover of Munich-based Hypo-Vereinsbank, where thousands of jobs were cut and many skills were transferred to Milan.
Wittmann appealed to the federal government for help. “The federal government must now take a clear position and use its remaining 12 percent stake to prevent a damaging takeover of Commerzbank.”
Unicredit is valued at around €60 billion on the stock exchange, so it could afford to take over Commerzbank. Its Frankfurt stock market value is around €15 billion, just a quarter of that. There has been speculation in recent years about an Italian takeover.
Knopf CEO Contract Expired
In the short term, the federal government can no longer sell Commerzbank shares anyway. A Treasury spokesperson said there is currently a 90-day blocking period. “The interagency steering committee will decide in due course what to do with the remaining 12 percent stake.”
Just before the package sale was announced on Tuesday evening, Commerzbank made the surprising announcement that CEO Manfred Knof would not be renewing his contract and would leave the institute when his current contract expires at the end of December 2025.
