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UniCredit irks Germany with Commerzbank manoeuvre pending court ruling
UniCredit irks Germany with Commerzbank manoeuvre pending court ruling
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By Valentina Za, Tom Sims and Paolo Chiriatti UniCredit MIL:UCG met renewed German opposition on Wednesday to its takeover ambitions for Commerzbank XETR:CBK after it doubled its voting stake in the rival, pending an Italian court ruling on its bid for domestic target Banco BPM MIL:BAMI.After years of record profits boosted by high interest rates, Italian banks have embraced consolidation, with almost a dozen takeover bids currently unfolding or concluded in recent months. UniCredit, which also faces resistance to its growth plans at home, on Tuesday doubled its equity and voting stake in Commerzbank to around 20% by converting derivative contracts. It said it also plans to convert the remaining 9% it holds in derivatives without specifying when.Germany's finance ministry on Wednesday reiterated the government's rejection of UniCredit's "uncoordinated and unfriendly" approach, ruling out a sale of the state's remaining 12% stake in Commerzbank. "The federal government supports Commerzbank's strategy of independence. The federal government has already made this very clear to UniCredit," the spokesperson told a news conference.UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel has sought meetings with the German government to discuss a possible combination of Commerzbank with UniCredit's German unit HVB.The deputy chair of Commerzbank's supervisory board, Sascha Uebel, said UniCredit's move was not surprising, but increased his resolve."It doesn't change my opinion, except that I'm perhaps a little more determined than last week," he told Reuters.COURT ACTIONWhile the German government has no effective legal tools to block UniCredit's expansion plans, Italian laws give Rome power to block, or set conditions for, deals affecting strategic assets on national security grounds. It has used them to complicate UniCredit's bid for BPM, which the Treasury had hoped to combine with state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena MIL:BMPS.In response, UniCredit has asked a court to annul the conditions Rome set in April, saying they would be detrimental to the sound management of the combined bank.The court heard the appeal on Wednesday and must publish its decision by July 16, although it could make it public earlier."I never thought I'd come to this," UniCredit lawyer Fabio Cintioli told reporters after the hearing, quoting in English a line from the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" to describe It...