ECB clears way for UniCredit to take control of Commerzbank
The ECB's banking supervisor has allowed UniCredit to raise its Commerzbank stake above 30 percent. The Italian lender could hold about 50 percent of voting rights by the end of the year.
Archive image · Photo: Norbert Nagel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Italy's UniCredit may increase its stake in Germany's Commerzbank without an upper limit after receiving approval from the European Central Bank's banking supervisor, UniCredit said in Milan on Thursday evening. The bank called the decision "an important milestone" in the takeover. UniCredit currently holds just under 30 percent of Commerzbank's shares.
UniCredit can now convert Commerzbank shares it secured through an exchange offer into its own stock, according to the dpa-AFX news agency. If the remaining regulatory procedures are completed by the end of the year, UniCredit would hold about 50 percent of the voting rights and could take control. Commerzbank shares rose just over 1 percent to 38.09 euros shortly after trading opened on Friday.
UniCredit has pursued Commerzbank for about two years despite opposition in Germany. The federal government, which owns just over 13 percent of Commerzbank, wants to avoid compulsory layoffs among the bank's roughly 40,000 full-time staff worldwide and keep it a listed company based in Frankfurt. UniCredit sees potential savings in the billions, including through thousands of job cuts.