UniCredit CEO Says Commerzbank Takeover, Stake Increase on the Table

By Adria Calatayud

Italy's UniCredit would consider raising its stake in smaller German peer Commerzbank above the current 9% on the right terms and sees a full takeover as an option, Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

"As a private investor at the moment, we may go up, we may go down and we may combine. All the options are on the table," Orcel said Thursday.

UniCredit said Wednesday that it had built a Commerzbank stake of around 9%, buying 4.49% from the German government and the rest on the market. Some analysts see a rationale for a potential tie-up between the two banks, citing UniCredit's presence in Germany through its HypoVereinsbank business.

After going public on its Commerzbank stake, UniCredit can engage with all stakeholders to see if the basis for a combination is there, the bank's CEO said.

"We have a lot of confidence in the value that Commerzbank can still create, even before one considered any combination," Orcel said.

UniCredit would be interested in acquiring more Commerzbank shares from the German government if they were up for sale on the right terms, Orcel said.

The German government cut its stake in Commerzbank to 12% after it sold a 4.49% stake to UniCredit for 702 million euros ($773.1 million). Last week, the government said it wanted to start a process to exit the stake.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 12, 2024 09:46 ET (13:46 GMT)

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