The German government has launched an internal investigation into the sale of shares of Commerzbank AG to the Italian bank UniCredit SpA. This is reported by foreign media.
The government is unhappy with the results of the share placement and is trying to figure out the sequence of events that led to UniCredit Bank acquiring a large stake in Commerzbank.
The sale of shares will also be carefully considered by the German parliamentary committee next Wednesday at the request of lawmakers to the Ministry of Finance regarding the organization of the tender.
UniCredit bought out 9% of Commerzbank shares on September 11, 2024, becoming one of the key shareholders. In particular, UniCredit acquired 4.49% of Commerzbank shares from the German government, and the remaining shares were sold on the open market at a price of 13.20 euros per share. The total value of the transactions amounted to 702 million euros.
As a result of the transaction, UniCredit's 9% stake is almost equivalent to the German government's share as Commerzbank's largest shareholder (12%) and increases the likelihood of a full takeover of Commerzbank, taking into account UniCredit's plans to increase its stake.
At the same time, the German government retains ownership of 12% of the shares, and the investment company BlackRock Inc. owns about 7.2%. Earlier, the German government announced its intention to reduce its stake in Commerzbank, which is 16.5% and is estimated at 2.5 billion euros.
German officials expected that the share of foreign investors would remain at a moderate level in order to preserve the independence of Commerzbank in order to lend to medium-sized companies in the domestic market. In addition, the government planned to get a higher price, taking into account the 18 billion euros ($20 billion) spent on the acquisition of Commerzbank during the financial crisis.
The chief executive officer of UniCredit, Andrea Orcel, denied the allegations of German officials regarding ignorance about the increase in UniCredit's share through derivative contracts on the eve of the acquisition of shares from the German government on September 11. Orcel said that UniCredit had not concealed plans to acquire assets for a long time, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was notified in advance of Andrea Orcel's plans.
The merger of the Italian bank UniCredit SpA and the German Commerzbank AG responds to the desire of some stakeholders for greater integration in the eurozone financial sector through cross-border mergers. This is stated in a statement by ECB (European Central Bank) President Christine Lagarde.
The acquisition of a 9% stake in Commerzbank by UniCredit Bank should receive ECB approval, as it could lead to the creation of the largest multinational bank in Europe, which will effectively compete with global financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, and strengthen the position of the European banking sector. ECB has been trying for years to lower regulatory barriers to large mergers in the financial sector.
At the moment, the German government has imposed a restriction on the further sale of Commerzbank shares within 3 months according to the rules of the stock market.
UniCredit S.p.A. is a multinational banking group headquartered in Milan (Italy). UniCredit is the only systemically important bank in Italy.
Commerzbank is a German banking concern. The bank is an important source of lending to the German economy and ranks third in Germany and twenty-third in Europe in terms of assets (about 507 billion euros). The headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) with 70 thousand corporate clients in 50 countries around the world.
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