Overview
- BaFin issued the order Friday under the Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (WpÜG), stopping UniCredit’s negative LinkedIn ads and certain critical remarks tied to its Commerzbank bid.
- The regulator said the posts used unspecific or misleading claims that could sway investors and it warned UniCredit that breaches could trigger fines.
- The ads described Commerzbank as neglected, unsafe, and short-term focused while casting UniCredit as strong and leading, and they were accessible across the EU before being removed.
- UniCredit took down the posts and said a mistranslated word muddied an effort to promote what it called a positive vision for Commerzbank.
- UniCredit plans a formal offer in early May aimed at topping 30% ownership, a threshold that can ease control-building, as Commerzbank’s leadership and the federal government oppose a sale.