New German Finance Chief Slams UniCredit’s Commerzbank Approach
(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s new finance minister used his first public speech since taking office to voice sharp criticism of the tactics UniCredit SpA used in building a major stake in Commerzbank AG.
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“Aggressively investing in a systemically important bank like Commerzbank using unfriendly methods and without cooperation is not an appropriate approach,” Joerg Kukies, who was appointed last week after Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his predecessor, said Tuesday at an economic forum in Berlin.
“Hostile takeovers in Europe and Germany are not what we need for stable banks,” added Kukies, a former Scholz adviser who was previously a co-head of Goldman Sachs in Germany.
UniCredit has said it’s considering a takeover of its German rival after it acquired a significant holding, partly by using a government placement in September to buy the entire 4.5% on offer. That move came as a surprise to officials in Berlin, who had expected to sell the shares to various institutional investors instead.
Scholz and other members of his government have denounced the way UniCredit built the stake and said they oppose an acquisition of Commerzbank by the Italian rival. Berlin has also paused further share sales. It currently still owns 12% in Commerzbank.
UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel has defended his approach, saying the bank flagged its interest in Commerzbank to Berlin ahead of time and its purchase of the government’s stake shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
UniCredit officials were in touch with the German government after Berlin announced its intention to sell the stake on Sept. 3 and before the actual sale about a week later, Bloomberg has reported.
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