Two European banking powerhouses have become embroiled in a €35bn (£30bn) takeover battle after Italy’s UniCredit stepped up its long-running pursuit of German lender Commerzbank, despite strong opposition from the German government.
UniCredit first acquired a 9% stake in Commerzbank in September 2024 and has since increased its stake to just under 30%. On Monday it said it was pushing to increase that stake further and push the rival lender into formal merger talks.
Under German law, a shareholder holding more than 30% of the stake must submit a takeover bid. The Milan-based bank said on Monday it was planning a share swap that would involve a price of 30.8 euros per Commerzbank share, or about 34.7 billion euros in total. Commerzbank’s share price rose to 31.30 euros in early trading on Monday.
The move puts him on a collision course with Commerzbank’s board and the German state, which bailed out the bank during the 2008 financial crisis and still has a stake of more than 12%.
“UniCredit indicates openness to dialogue and willingness to build bridges with Commerzbank and key stakeholders,” Unicredit said.
UniCredit said the offer would take it beyond the “30% cliff edge that exists under German takeover law and encourage constructive engagement with Commerzbank and its stakeholders in the coming weeks.”
He added: “UniCredit’s board of directors views this offer as a sensible and pragmatic move without downsides, given that the existing stake continues to significantly increase in value regardless of the offer.”
Frankfurt-based Commerzbank is one of Germany’s oldest banks, founded in 1870. It has around 40,000 employees in 40 countries.
The 2008 bailout involved the German government injecting €18.2 billion in cash.
Last year, a spokesman for the German Finance Ministry said: “The federal government supports Commerzbank’s independence strategy. The federal government has already made this very clear to UniCredit.”
Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also called the Italian measure “a hostile attack.”
UniCredit is Italy’s second-largest lender and has returned to profitability after the global financial crisis. It now owns another German bank, HypoVereinsbank.
Meanwhile, Commerzbank is one of the largest lenders to the Mittelstand, the small and medium-sized family businesses that form the backbone of the German economy. However, it has been the subject of repeated takeover attempts, including a failed merger deal with Deutsche Bank.
UniCredit said it hopes to formally launch the offering in early May, following a shareholder meeting at which it will seek to gain investor approval for the move.
Other major investors in Commerzbank include BlackRock, with just under 6%, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns around 3%.
