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UniCredit Sets May 5 Offer for Commerzbank as Orcel Presses Ahead

German resistance from policymakers to managers threatens to slow the deal.

Overview

  • UniCredit, which disclosed Wednesday it will publish a formal bid on May 5, set a four-week acceptance window that could extend by two weeks.
  • The bank scheduled a May 4 shareholder vote to approve a capital increase needed to issue new shares for the swap, which values the deal at about €35 billion.
  • Holders of Commerzbank stock would receive 0.485 UniCredit shares for each share they tender.
  • Commerzbank’s board led by Bettina Orlopp rejects the approach as unattractive, and the German government, which owns about 12%, opposes a takeover.
  • Germany’s regulator BaFin banned UniCredit ads it called sensational and unobjective, while CEO Andrea Orcel says he will not withdraw and estimates an integration could cut about 7,000 jobs in Germany.