UniCredit expands Commerzbank stake to more than 44 percent – German government criticizes approach as unacceptable

Share structure and potential voting rights

Through call options, UniCredit also has access to an additional 3.22 percent of Commerzbank shares, which could raise its overall stake to 47.59 percent. At the annual general meeting, UniCredit could exercise as much as 49.65 percent of voting rights, according to its own statements, since Commerzbank's own shares are not entitled to vote. UniCredit spoke of a "further step in implementing the strategic investment in Commerzbank".

UniCredit has been engaged with Commerzbank since September 2024 and had gradually expanded its influence. In early May, the Milan-based bank submitted a takeover offer structured at 0.485 UniCredit shares per Commerzbank share. Through this construct, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel avoided a mandatory offer, which would have been legally required and more expensive upon crossing the 30 percent threshold.

Commerzbank's accusations

Commerzbank pointed out that the tendered shares came predominantly from banks and parties affiliated with UniCredit. "Die angedienten Aktien stammen überwiegend von mit der Unicredit verbundenen Banken und Parteien", the bank stated. In addition, it remains unclear "in welchem Umfang geliehene Aktien angedient und welche Absicherungsvereinbarungen in diesem Kontext getroffen wurden".

Commerzbank has filed a complaint with the financial supervisory authority, according to its own statements; the works council filed a criminal complaint on suspicion of market manipulation. The bank accused UniCredit of "künstlich aufzublähen" its share position – which the Italians rejected. According to Commerzbank, the shares tendered by professional and private investors amount to less than two percent.

Position of the federal government and the states

The German federal government described UniCredit's approach as "inakzeptabel". "Das aggressive und feindliche Vorgehen der Unicredit bleibt aus Sicht der Bundesregierung inakzeptabel", said a spokesperson for the Finance Ministry. The federal government would not sell its shareholding of around 12 percent, the government emphasized. While the federal government cannot prevent a takeover, it has the right to nominate two candidates for the Commerzbank supervisory board.

Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) appealed to both sides to sit down at the table. Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp also signaled readiness for talks: "Jetzt geht es darum, einen gemeinsamen Weg zu suchen und einen konstruktiven Dialog auf höchster Management-Ebene zu führen", she told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. A "fairer und respektvoller Umgang miteinander" was essential, she said.

Commerzbank emphasized that synergies could only be realized to an appropriate extent through a consensual solution. "Nur mit einer einvernehmlichen Lösung unter Einbindung der Unternehmensführung, der Arbeitnehmer und ihrer Vertreter sowie der Bundesregierung als zweitgrößtem Aktionär ist es aus Sicht der Commerzbank realistisch, Synergien aus einem Zusammenschluss in einem angemessenen Umfang und Zeitrahmen zu erreichen", the institute stated.

Orcel's plans for synergies and job cuts

UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel, who wrote his thesis in the 1980s on the topic of "Hostile Takeovers", sees potential for billions in savings in a merger. This includes cutting 7,000 jobs at Commerzbank and thinning out the foreign network. With a takeover of the Commerzbank, founded in 1870, Orcel aims to forge a European major bank, also as a counterweight to the US institutions.

The American magazine Fortune describes Orcel as "am meisten polarisierenden Banker Europas", the German magazine Capital calls him the "Hai der Finanzwelt". The Neue Zürcher Zeitung compares the Italian, who always appears wearing a red tie, with football star Cristiano Ronaldo. Orcel himself said about himself on Bloomberg TV: "Wenn ich etwas sehe, über das andere Leute sagen, das sei unmöglich, zu viel Herausforderung, das sei kaputt – dann sehe ich Möglichkeiten, Chancen, Potenzial".

The Milan-based bank's balance sheet has improved since Orcel took office in 2021; according to figures from last year, he earned over 16 million euros at UniCredit. Critics accuse the 63-year-old of combining determination with trickery. "Ja, Talent spielt eine Rolle", Orcel said, "entscheidend ist Entschlossenheit".

Outstanding hurdles and outlook

Analysts at BNP Paribas expect UniCredit to negotiate a compromise with the federal government in the coming months. Until the transaction is completed, regulatory approvals are also required, particularly from the banking supervisory authority of the European Central Bank and the competition authorities of the EU Commission. UniCredit remains committed to working "konstruktiv" with all relevant stakeholders while advancing the necessary regulatory and supervisory processes.

Orcel had previously threatened to remove Commerzbank's management at the next annual general meeting in spring 2027 should he gather enough shareholders behind him. Eight of ten supervisory board members will be newly elected at the shareholder meeting in spring 2027. UniCredit is already active in Germany through its German subsidiary HypoVereinsbank (HVB).

With UniCredit's higher stake, a takeover of the 156-year-old Commerzbank becomes more likely. Orcel sees a merger as an opportunity to consolidate the European banking sector: "Man redet immer von einem Europa, das mit den Vereinigten Staaten, China und den anderen Wirtschaftsblöcken mithalten kann", he said last year before bank union representatives in Milan. But in Europe we have so far only had "Zwergbanken". Because, as Orcel says, "die Bank ist das finanzielle Benzin für Wirtschaft und Industrie".