{"id":1312,"date":"2024-09-11T18:13:46","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T18:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2024-09-13T01:14:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T01:14:08","slug":"commerzbank-gears-up-for-potential-unicredit-takeover-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=1312","title":{"rendered":"Commerzbank gears up for potential UniCredit takeover bid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Commerzbank AG\u2019s executive board is reviewing its defense strategy as it prepares for a potential takeover approach by UniCredit SpA.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The German bank, which was surprised by UniCredit\u2019s disclosure of a 9% stake, is taking the precautionary move ahead of its engagement with its Italian rival, according to people familiar with the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported.<\/p>\n<p>Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Commerzbank as it weighs options how to respond, a person familiar with the matter said. A spokesperson for Commerzbank declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel said in an interview on Thursday that he\u2019s considering a takeover of Commerzbank as an option. Such a move would create the largest lender by revenue in the country, where UniCredit already owns Munich-based HypoVereinsbank.<\/p>\n<p>Orcel also indicated in the interview he\u2019ll seek to influence Commerzbank\u2019s strategy even if a full takeover doesn\u2019t materialize.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Commerzbank has recently emerged from a painful restructuring and achieved record profit last year. Manfred Knof, who has overseen that turnaround, announced shortly before news of UniCredit\u2019s investment emerged that he won\u2019t seek another term.<\/p>\n<p>Knof over the past year unsuccessfully tried to find an anchor investor in the Middle East or Asia to help protect Commerzbank from an unsolicited takeover, Bloomberg has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2023-12-01\/commerzbank-said-to-seek-wealth-fund-investor-in-asia-mideast\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-93594058-0 fowfrQ  \" aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2023-12-01\/commerzbank-said-to-seek-wealth-fund-investor-in-asia-mideast\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>. Other options that potential takeover targets sometimes employ as countermeasures include limiting initial access to their books.<\/p>\n<p>In the absence of an anchor investor, political roadblocks may be Commerzbank\u2019s best hope. The prospect of a takeover by a foreign bank might encourage Berlin to retain the remaining 12% it owns in the lender.<\/p>\n<p>While the German government has said it plans to eventually exit its entire stake, further sales have yet to be decided. It could also transfer the shares to a new fund planned to supplement the country\u2019s pension system.<\/p>\n<p>The labor union Ver.di has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/verdi-finanzdienste_unicredit-will-commerzbank-%C3%BCbernehmen-das-activity-7239644199015309315-0Dx_?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-93594058-0 fowfrQ  \" aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/verdi-finanzdienste_unicredit-will-commerzbank-%C3%BCbernehmen-das-activity-7239644199015309315-0Dx_?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>\u00a0it will deploy \u201call means\u201d to prevent a takeover of Commerzbank by UniCredit and it\u2019s urged the government not to sell down its stake further. The deal would put thousands of jobs at risk, it said.<\/p>\n<p>If Commerzbank can\u2019t remain independent, it would be better off engaging in cooperation talks with a French bank, Stefan Wittmann, a labor representative who sits on the German bank\u2019s supervisory board, told French business daily Les Echos.<\/p>\n<p>Government-brokered merger discussions between Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank AG several years ago fell apart as both lenders preferred to focus on their own turnaround plans.<\/p>\n<p>Orcel on Thursday emphasized that UniCredit already created \u201cmassive value\u201d at HypoVereinsbank, which it agreed to acquire in 2005. He also pushed back against suggestions that UniCredit\u2019s acquisition of the Commerzbank shares surprised stakeholders.<\/p>\n<p>UniCredit \u201calways entertained a dialog with regulators, institutions and counterparts in Germany,\u201d he said in the interview. \u201cI would have thought all the relevant stakeholders were well aware of what we were doing and we would not have moved otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>(Adds details throughout.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commerzbank AG\u2019s executive board is reviewing its defense strategy as it prepares for a potential takeover approach by UniCredit SpA. The German bank, which was surprised by UniCredit\u2019s disclosure of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":247,"featured_media":1313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[752,2099,2100,930,2102,2101],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Commerzbank gears up for potential UniCredit takeover bid - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is acting as Commerzbank\u2019s defense adviser\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=1312\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Commerzbank gears up for potential UniCredit takeover bid - 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