Banks Unicredit buys Commerzbank package from the German government
The German government wants to sell the federal government's stake in Commerzbank. A first package has now gone to a major Italian bank.
11.09.2024, 08:57
SDA
The major Italian bank Unicredit has secured a stake in Commerzbank. As part of the sale of part of the Commerzbank shares announced a week ago, the federal government sold 4.49 percent of the shares in full to the Italians.
The Italians were prepared to pay more than the shares were worth on the stock exchange on Tuesday evening. The entire bid was allocated to Unicredit as a result of a "clear outbid" of all other offers, the responsible federal finance agency announced.
The allocation price was 13.20 euros per share, 60 cents more than the shares were worth at the close of trading on Tuesday. Discounts are customary for such placements. The German federal budget received 702 million euros from the sale.
The sale of just over 53 million shares reduces the government's stake to 12 percent. The state thus remains Commerzbank's largest shareholder. Unicredit is now the bank's third largest shareholder following the purchase of the share package.
Number two with around seven percent is the US asset manager Blackrock, which holds the shares via various funds and therefore has no strategic interest. Unicredit is already represented in Germany by HVB.
