A customer enters a Commerzbank AG bank branch in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
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Commerzbank shares jumped at the market open on Wednesday after Italian bank UniCredit acquired a 4.5% stake in the Frankfurt-based lender from the German government.
Commerzbank shares were up 17.5% at 9:37 am. London time.
The share buyout marks the first step in Berlin’s exit from its position at the German lender. The German government said it sold about 53.1 million shares — or about 4.49 percent of its total 16.49 percent stake — in Commerzbank for about 702 million euros ($775 million) to UniCredit.
Even at a reduced 12% position, the German government said it remains Commerzbank’s largest shareholder. Berlin has maintained its stake in the lender since it raised 18.2 billion euros to bail out Commerzbank during the 2008 financial crisis. About 13.15 billion euros of that amount has been repaid to date, according to government he said last week.
“Commerzbank has shown that it is once again standing on its own two feet. With this, the first partial sale of the investment will mark the completion of the successful stabilization of the investment bank and thus the exit of the federal government,” said Eva Grunwald, managing director of federal financial service.
In a separate statement, UniCredit said it had taken a 9% stake in Commerzbank, confirming that half of that stake was acquired by the government.
“To maintain flexibility, UniCredit will submit regulatory filings for authorization to potentially exceed Commerzbank’s 9.9% stake if and when necessary,” UniCredit said. Shares in the Milan-listed bank itself were up 2% at 09:37 am. in London.
Commerzbank did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Also on Wednesday the German lender he said Commerzbank chief Manfred Knof will serve but not seek to renew his term after his contract expires in December 2025. The bank will begin the process of finding a successor.
Binding
The latest share trade has revived speculation over whether UniCredit, which already has a presence in Germany through lender HypoVereinsbank, will seek to buy Commerzbank to create a German banking powerhouse as some analysts see scope for consolidation in European markets.
Earlier this year, market whispers had penciled in the possibility that Germany’s biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, would seek a tie-up with its domestic counterparty. The two German banks had briefly advanced, then abruptly abandoned, plans to create a European megabank in 2019. In January, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing dismissed the possibility of a merger in January, denying that merger activities and acquisition are not a priority for the team at that time.
In contrast, UniCredit has been active in mergers and acquisitions in recent months and in July was announced the acquisition of the Belgian digital bank Aion and the cloud platform Vodeno for 370 million euros. This came as UniCredit declared record first-half performance and 6% year-on-year increase in net revenue to €6.3 billion in the second quarter.
CNBC has reached out to UniCredit for comment on possible takeover intentions.
