The statement continues: “Commerzbank AG is a stable and profitable institution. Its strategy is geared towards independence. The federal government will support this by maintaining its stake for the time being.” By referring to independence, the finance agency is likely responding to the ambitions of the major Italian bank Unicredit, which wants to buy the federal government’s entire share – and could also seek to take over Commerzbank.
Investors speculating on a takeover of Commerzbank by Unicredit have suffered a setback. The shares lost 1.3 percent in late trading in Frankfurt, after ending Xetra trading 0.5 percent higher at 15.68 euros.
This week, Commerzbank asked the federal government to do just that. The board has so far reacted cautiously to the advances from Italy. Unicredit secured part of the shares when the federal government sold its first block of shares, increasing its stake to nine percent.
Other bodies have also spoken out against a takeover of Commerzbank by Italian competitors in recent days. The Prime Minister of Hesse, Boris Rhein (CDU), said on Friday that his state government had not been sufficiently informed about the sale by the federal government and called on the federal government to strengthen Frankfurt as a financial center instead of weakening it. The Verdi union and the Commerzbank works council also spoke out strictly against a sale.
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