BanksUnicredit: Commerzbank takeover would be a "test case for Europe"
SDA
25.9.2024 - 11:40
After taking a stake in Commerzbank, Unicredit CEO Andrea Orcel is keeping all options open - but emphasizes the advantages of a cross-border merger. "Commerzbank is an investment. Nothing else."
Keystone-SDA
25.09.2024, 11:40
SDA
There is currently no takeover bid, Orcel said at a Bank of America conference in London. However, a merger with the Frankfurt-based Dax group could become a "test case for Europe", which needs larger banks. "We can come together and do something bigger." Commerzbank is a good strategic fit with the major Italian bank.
The German banking market is fragmented and Unicredit has local experience, said the former UBS banker Orcel, alluding to the subsidiary HypoVereinsbank (HVB), which was taken over by Unicredit in 2005. At the same time, Orcel once again emphasized that Unicredit was not under pressure to make a move. "We can also sell the Commerzbank stake again." In large mergers, unity is needed on both sides.
When asked whether the bank had held talks with the German government, which rejects Unicredit's approach, Orcel replied: "We have repeatedly spoken to large, important shareholders." Unicredit is open to a new dialog, he said.
Unicredit has taken advantage of the partial exit of the Bund and has invested in Commerzbank on a large scale. It recently secured the option to increase its stake from nine to 21 percent via financial instruments. This would make Unicredit by far the largest shareholder - ahead of the German government, which holds around 12 percent.