(March 16): UniCredit SpA made a €35 billion (US$40 billion) takeover bid for Commerzbank AG, while saying it doesn’t expect to actually take full control.
The Italian bank expects its offer to be 0.485 of its own shares for each Commerzbank share, it said in a statement Monday, “implying a €30.8 price per Commerzbank share, or a 4% premium as of closing on March 13,” it said. That would be about €34.7 billion, according to Bloomberg News calculations.
The German regulator BaFin will have to make the final decision on the price in the coming days, it said, adding that “it is expected that UniCredit will achieve a stake in Commerzbank in excess of 30% without reaching control.”
Commerzbank had a market value of about €33 billion (US$38 billion) at Friday’s market close, compared with about €96 billion for UniCredit. Each of the German lender’s shares was worth €29.95 at close, compared with €63.50 for UniCredit.
The German government, which also holds a stake in Commerzbank, has repeatedly made clear that it opposes a takeover by UniCredit.
The offer is expected to be formally launched at the beginning of May, with an offer period of four weeks, UniCredit said.
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UniCredit previously controlled just under 30% in Commerzbank, largely held in direct shares.
UniCredit chief executive officer Andrea Orcel has been floating the possibility of a takeover bid ever since first disclosing a Commerzbank stake in late 2024, which he subsequently expanded.
The share price of Commerzbank has risen more strongly than UniCredit’s since then, making a bid more expensive for Orcel. However, the German lender’s stock is down about 18% this year, one of the worst performers in the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index.
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A previous effort by Orcel to buy domestic rival Banco BPM SpA was effectively shot down by the Italian government.
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