The Italian major bank UniCredit has surprisingly secured a nine percent stake in Commerzbank. And the Italians apparently want even more. Employee representatives are alarmed.
The Italian UniCredit has made a surprise move to acquire Commerzbank. The Italians have taken advantage of a share sale by the German government and secured a nine percent stake in the second-largest listed German bank. At the same time, they indicated an interest in expanding their involvement. UniCredit already has a strong presence in Germany with Munich-based HypoVereinsbank.
On Tuesday evening, the federal government announced the sale of a 4.49 percent package. Today, the Finance Ministry announced that the package had been sold in full to UniCredit, which had made by far the highest bid of 13.20 euros per share. The Ministry put the proceeds of the transaction at 702 million euros. Financial circles said it was very unusual for everything to go to one buyer. UniCredit as a buyer was also very surprising.
“Discuss opportunities for increasing value”
UniCredit said that in addition to the federal government's package, the bank had acquired further shares on the market and now holds a nine percent stake in Commerzbank. It will discuss with its German competitor ways to increase value for shareholders of both banks. If necessary, it will seek regulatory approval for a possible increase in the stake to more than 9.9 percent.
This sparked speculation on the stock exchange that Commerzbank could be taken over. In the morning, the share temporarily gained more than 17 percent in value.
Would the federal government allow a takeover?
If UniCredit really does seek to control Commerzbank, the federal government would play a key role. “The federal government is committed to the principle of economic efficiency,” said a spokeswoman for the FDP-led finance ministry about the package sale to the highest Italian bidder. However, it is unclear whether this also applies to the approximately twelve percent of Commerzbank that the federal government still holds.
It is known that the state wants to completely dismantle its stake in Commerzbank, which it acquired during the financial crisis of 2008/2009. However, before UniCredit can become involved again, there will probably be a comprehensive antitrust review.
Ver.di wants to defend itself “by all means”
Employee representatives were alarmed by the latest developments at Commerzbank. Ver.di union secretary and Commerzbank supervisory board member Stefan Wittmann told the “Handelsblatt” that they would defend themselves “with all means at their disposal”. He referred to the takeover of Munich's Hypo-Vereinsbank by UniCredit. Thousands of jobs were cut there and many skills were transferred to Milan.
Wittmann demanded help from the federal government: “The federal government must now take a clear stance and use its remaining stake of twelve percent to prevent a damaging takeover of Commerzbank.”
UniCredit is worth almost 60 billion euros on the stock market – and could therefore afford a takeover of Commerzbank. The Frankfurt-based bank's market value is only around a quarter of that, at around 15 billion euros. There has been speculation in recent years about a takeover by the Italians.
CEO Knof’s contract expires
In the short term, the federal government cannot sell any more Commerzbank shares anyway. There is now a 90-day lock-up period, said the Finance Ministry spokeswoman. “The interministerial steering committee will decide in due course how to deal with the remaining 12 percent stake.”
Shortly before the package sale was announced on Tuesday evening, Commerzbank surprisingly announced that CEO Manfred Knof would not renew his contract and would leave the bank after his current contract expires at the end of December 2025.
