Frankfurt (Germany), July 10 (LaPresse) – The German government is urging UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel to abandon his attempt to acquire Commerzbank.
"We expect UniCredit to drop its acquisition attempt. We continue to support an independent Commerzbank," said German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil to DPA.
"Commerzbank is a systemically important bank in Germany and has shown it can succeed independently," he added.
UniCredit made a major investment in Germany’s second-largest private bank last autumn and announced on Tuesday evening that it had doubled its direct stake in Commerzbank — and thus its voting rights — from just under 10% to about 20%. This makes Italy’s leading bank Commerzbank’s largest shareholder, ahead of the German government, which still owns around 12% of the shares.
Klingbeil stressed that the federal government's position remains unchanged: "We reject UniCredit’s uncoordinated and hostile approach. The federal government has made this clear to UniCredit. It will not sell its stake."
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