UniCredit has vehemently rejected suggestions from Commerzbank regarding the actual take-up in its €40 billion all-share buyout offer, which concluded today. The Italian bank, a major financial institution providing a wide range of banking and financial services, has also raised the prospect of toppling the German lender’s current management board. This intensely contested bid for Commerzbank, a prominent German financial services company, has been met with strong opposition from the target bank and the broader German establishment, culminating in a barrage of mutual recriminations.
Commerzbank had challenged UniCredit’s take-up data, alleging that no institutional investors had tendered shares directly, but rather that shares originated from banks acting as derivatives counterparties to UniCredit. UniCredit, which holds derivatives with Nomura, Citi, and BNP Paribas, unequivocally stated that “Suggestions that the actual number of tendered shares is lower because these shares have been borrowed from UniCredit are false and without foundation.” The Milan-based bank clarified its position to “set the record straight” due to “the continued and relentless dissemination of inaccurate and misleading information” interfering with the offer process, and indicated it would consider “the most appropriate action” to protect its interests.
Having initially aimed to secure just over 30%, UniCredit has amassed an overall holding of 41.8% of Commerzbank’s capital. This includes a near 27% equity stake built previously, 3.2% in share-settled derivatives, and the recently tendered shares which stood at 11.86% as of Friday. With this significant stake, UniCredit expressed confidence that it would command sufficient shareholder support at Commerzbank’s next Annual General Meeting to appoint all shareholder representatives to the supervisory board. This move, it noted, would subsequently grant it responsibility for appointing the management board, thereby enabling the implementation of its promised profit-boosting strategy for Commerzbank.
