Italy’s UniCredit makes takeover bid for Germany’s Commerzbank
Published Mon, Mar 16, 2026 · 04:30 PM
[ROME] UniCredit made a takeover bid for Commerzbank, presumably triggering a protracted fight for the German lender.
The Italian lender is offering 0.485 of its own shares for each Commerzbank share, it said in a statement Monday (Mar 16).
Commerzbank had a market value of about 33 billion euros (S$48.3 billion) at Friday’s market close, compared with about 96 billion euros for UniCredit. Each of the German lender’s shares was worth 29.95 euros at close, compared with 63.50 uros for UniCredit.
The German government, which also holds a stake in Commerzbank, has repeatedly made clear it opposes a takeover by UniCredit.
The offer is expected to be formally launched at the beginning of May with an offer period of 4 weeks, UniCredit said.
UniCredit previously controlled just under 30 per cent in Commerzbank, largely held in direct shares.
UniCredit chief executive officer Andrea Orcel has been floating the possibility of a takeover bid ever since first disclosing a Commerzbank stake in late 2024, which he subsequently expanded.
The share price of Commerzbank has risen more strongly than UniCredit’s since then, making a bid more expensive for Orcel. However, the German lender’s stock is down about 18 per cent this year, one of the worst performers in the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index.
A previous effort by Orcel to buy domestic rival Banco BPM was effectively shot down by the Italian government. BLOOMBERG
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