Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday issued a sharp warning to UniCredit to refrain from “unfriendly” acts after the Italian bank revealed it had significantly increased its stake in Germany’s Commerzbank. UniCredit said it now held a stake of around 21 percent in Germany’s second-largest lender, making it the largest shareholder ahead of the German state. The move has fuelled speculation of a potential takeover, setting the stage for a clash with Berlin, which still owns 12 percent of Commerzbank.
Scholz made his displeasure clear from abroad, addressing German TV cameras on a street in New York. “Unfriendly attacks, hostile takeovers are not a good thing for banks,” Scholz told reporters, adding that the government had made its position on the matter “very clear”. Commerzbank was a lender that “operates successfully” and plays a key role in helping the German economy and its small- and medium-sized companies access necessary funding, he added. A German finance ministry official told AFP that Berlin had “communicated” to UniCredit that “we do not support a takeover”. “The German government supports Commerzbank’s strategy of independence,” the official added.
Scholz’s words puzzled Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who leapt to UniCredit’s defence. “These are private but legitimate initiatives. I do not understand why an Italian company buying from the European market would be a hostile act,” he told the Italian press from New York. Tajani said that Europe had a free market with rules and that “it seems to me that UniCredit has respected them”.
UniCredit surprised markets 10 days ago by revealing it had acquired a nine percent stake in Commerzbank, half of it from the German government. UniCredit caught observers off guard again on Monday when it announced it had taken another 11.5 percent through financial instruments, bringing its total ownership to around 21 percent. Italy’s second biggest bank also said it had requested European Central Bank permission to raise its stake to 29.9 percent, just short of the 30 percent threshold that would require it to make a public offer for the entire bank. The bank said in a statement that it had “full flexibility and optionality to either retain its shareholding, sell its participation or increase the stake further”. It would depend on the talks with Commerzbank, its management and supervisory boards, as well as with its wider stakeholders in Germany, it said. Contacted by AFP, Commerzbank declined to comment.
Last week, UniCredit boss Andrea Orcel ruled out a hostile takeover bid for Commerzbank, telling Italy’s Il Messaggero daily that such a move “would be an aggressive act”. UniCredit already owns Germany’s HypoVereinsbank. But UniCredit’s interest in Commerzbank has raised hackles in Germany, amid accusations that the German government had been caught napping. UniCredit notably acquired 4.5 percent of its stake from the German government itself — after Berlin said it would start selling down its holdings in Commerzbank, citing the bank’s improved economic situation.
German opposition politicians and the Verdi labour union have in recent days voiced strong objections to a potential tie-up with UniCredit, fearing job losses. In the wake of the controversy, Berlin on Friday said it had decided not to sell off any more of its Commerzbank shares “for the time being”. Berlin bailed out Commerzbank with billions of euros in 2009 after the global financial crisis pushed it to the brink of collapse. Commerzbank has bounced back strongly since then, posting its best annual net profit for 15 years in 2023. It is aiming for even better results in 2024 despite expectations of lower interest rates.
© 2024 AFP
