A customer enters a branch of Commerzbank AG in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
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Shares of Commerzbank jumped at market open on Wednesday, after Italy's UniCredit acquired a 4.5% stake in the Frankfurt-based lender from the German government.
Commerzbank's shares, listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, were up 20.31% at 12:54 p.m. London time.
The acquisition of the stake marks the first step in Berlin’s exit from the German bank. 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.
Despite its stake falling to 12%, the German government said it remained Commerzbank’s largest shareholder. Berlin has held onto its stake since it injected 18.2 billion euros to rescue Commerzbank during the financial crisis in 2008. The government said last week it had repaid about 13.15 billion euros of that amount so far.
“Commerzbank has proven that it is on its feet again. The first partial sale of the investment will thus mark the completion of the successful stabilization of the investment bank and thus the exit of the federal government,” said Eva Grünewald, Managing Director of the Federal Finance Agency.
In a separate statement, UniCredit said it had acquired a 9% stake in Commerzbank, confirming that half of that stake was acquired from the government.
“To maintain flexibility, UniCredit will file regulatory filings for permission to exceed 9.9% of Commerzbank if necessary,” UniCredit said. The Milan-listed bank's shares were up about 0.5% at 12:55 p.m. in London.
“We have taken note of UniCredit's announcement this morning and its acquisition of a stake in Commerzbank. This is also evidence of the progress we have made and Commerzbank's position. Commerzbank's management and management board will continue to act in the best interests of all our shareholders and key stakeholders such as employees and customers,” Commerzbank said later on Wednesday.
Commerzbank's supervisory board has scheduled an extraordinary meeting for 5 p.m. local time to discuss UniCredit, Commerzbank board member Stefan Wittmann told Reuters.
CNBC has contacted Commerzbank for comment on the meeting.
The German bank also said on Wednesday that Commerzbank Chief Executive Manfred Knof would fulfil his contract but would not seek a renewal after it expires in December 2025. The bank will begin the process of finding a successor.
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The latest stake deal has revived speculation about whether UniCredit, which already has a presence in Germany through Hypo Vereenigingbank, will seek to acquire Commerzbank to create a German banking powerhouse as some analysts see scope for consolidation in European markets.
Earlier this year, there were rumblings in the market that Germany’s biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, might seek a tie-up with its local counterpart. The two German banks had briefly pursued, then abruptly abandoned, plans to create a pan-European bank in 2019. In January, Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Christian Sewing dismissed the possibility of a merger, denying that M&A was not a priority for his group at the time.
By contrast, UniCredit has been active in M&A in recent months, announcing in July the acquisition of Belgian digital bank Aon and its cloud platform Vodino for €370 million. This came as UniCredit reported record first-half performance and a 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 the potential acquisition intentions.
