UNECRTT doubles its share in the field of Commerzbank to 20 %

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Unicredit said on Tuesday that it has increased its share in Commerzbank to about 20 percent, as the Italian bank doubles the potential acquisition of the second largest lender in Germany despite Berlin’s opposition.

Unicredit He built an interest by 28 percent Commerzbank Since last year, through a set of shares and derived transactions.

Before announcing the last Italian bank, it had a 9.5 percent stake in Commerzbank, with the rest of its 28 percent interest through derivatives.

In a statement on Tuesday, Unicardit said it had received “all necessary legal and regulatory approvals” to convert about 10 percent of its current interest in Commerzbank, which was kept through derivatives to physical stocks.

This step will make Unicredit the largest contributor to Commerzbank, and the Italian lender said that the approvals confirmed “the suitability of our actions and our approach.”

The Milan -based bank added that it is planning to convert the remaining exposure from derivatives to the shares of Commerzbank “in time”, which will take the total voting rights in the German lender to about 29 percent.

In March, unicredit said she had happened Approval of the European Central Bank To own more than 9.9 percent of Commerzbank shares.

Under German law, any shareholder whose share in the company exceeds 30 percent to launch an official acquisition offer – a step that unicredit has not yet been committed.

Commerzbank said that the increasing share of the stockpite shares “had no impact on our strategic direction or aspirations,” adding that it has been focusing on implementing the independence strategy.

The aspirations of Andrea Orzel’s deals, CEO of Unicredit recently, after German Chancellor Friedrich Mirz and Finance Minister Lars Klingelle refused the idea of ​​a “cordial” action to Commerzbank and said they wanted the lender to remain independent.

Meanwhile, the Italian government imposed Conditions for possible acquisition By unicredit from the Banco BPM competitor.

In a letter sent in June to the German government, which is now the second largest shareholder in Commerzbank with a 12 percent stake, Orcel said that unicredit wants to remain “as an investor” while noticing “how Commerzbank develops and implements his strategic plan.”

However, he added: “In the future, other options may remain open to us, but not only to move forward and make an offer to integrate COMMERZBANK with (German affiliate Unicredit) HVB to create a new banking power for Germany.”

Orcel has already indicated a full offer by unicredit for commerzbank can be delayed until 2027.

A sharp rise in the price of Commerzbank led to the high cost of the deal – its shares have doubled more than twice since the first time revealed a share in the German lender in September 2024.