(Alliance News) – The German government is reportedly weighing new options to thwart UniCredit’s takeover bid for Commerzbank as political tensions mount over the deal spearheaded by CEO Andrea Orcel.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to Reuters, some members of the Berlin executive are examining the possibility of increasing the state’s stake in the German lender through KfW, the state-owned development bank, in an attempt to build a position large enough to prevent a full takeover.<\/p>\n
\nGermany already holds approximately 12% of Commerzbank, a legacy of the bailout conducted during the global financial crisis. The proposal under consideration involves further increasing this holding to establish a blocking minority.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to Reuters, the discussions reflect the German government’s growing concern over Commerzbank’s strategic role in financing the Mittelstand, the network of small and medium-sized enterprises considered a pillar of the German economy.<\/p>\n
\n‘A possible KfW participation should certainly be taken into consideration’, Armand Zorn, a prominent member of the German Social Democratic Party and deputy chairman of the SPD group in the Bundestag, told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\n‘It should be seen as a last resort if all other options fail… The impact would go far beyond the symbolic’, Zorn added.<\/p>\n
\nUniCredit has been targeting Commerzbank since 2024 and has progressively built a stake close to 30%, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp have repeatedly expressed their opposition to the transaction.<\/p>\n
\n‘The government should continue to signal that a hostile takeover of Commerzbank is not in the interest of the German financial center’, Zorn further told Reuters, adding that ‘Commerzbank plays a central role in Germany’s economic resilience’.<\/p>\n
\nReuters highlights that any increase in the public stake would require several billion euros and could face political resistance within the governing coalition, particularly from the more market-oriented Christian Democrats.<\/p>\n
\nThe deal has meanwhile become a political test for Berlin, after the government repeatedly called on UniCredit to abandon its pursuit without, so far, managing to halt Orcel’s initiative.<\/p>\n
\nSome of Commerzbank’s long-standing clients have also spoken out against the deal. ‘I view an acquisition very critically and do not see the benefits’, Juergen Lindhorst, chairman of the Lindhorst Group, told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to Reuters, the stake currently held by the German government is worth over EUR4.5 billion. Raising it to 25% to obtain a blocking minority could cost at least as much again, without necessarily guaranteeing a definitive end to UniCredit’s move.<\/p>\n
\nUniCredit shares were up 3.9% at EUR70.49 per share.<\/p>\n
\nBy Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter<\/p>\n
\nComments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com<\/p>\n
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