A new chapter in the Unicredit-Commerzbank saga has arrived. The bank, led by Andrea Orcel, will not attend the German institution's shareholders' meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, May 20. The news was revealed. Bloomberg, according to which Piazza Gae Aulenti does not have deposited the Commerzbank shares by the deadline, that is, Wednesday, May 13th, thus losing the right to participate. The meeting will therefore be held without the main shareholder.
The news had been in the air for days, also because in recent weeks Orcel has repeatedly reiterated that he does not want to participate - at least for the moment - in the management of the bank, especially while it is underway the offer launched on May 4th with the aim of exceeding 30% of the capital. The offer amounts to 0,485 UniCredit shares for each Commerzbank share. The transaction will close on June 16.
In this context, Unicredit's potential exposure to Commerzbank, also considering derivatives that are actually settled only in cash, has increased. to 38,87% of the voting rights. This is what emerges from a filing with the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and also communicated to Commerzbank. Specifically, UniCredit continues to hold 26,77% of Commerzbank shares plus 3,22% in equity-settled derivatives. However, the stake held in derivatives settled solely in cash has increased to 8,88%.
Yesterday, Monday, May 18, the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board of Commerzbank met the ops was soundly rejected, calling the Piazza Gae Aulenti plan "vague and risky" and deeming the prize inadequate. For his part, Unicredit "profoundly" disagrees, given that "the arguments presented" would appear to be "lacking foundation and supporting data".
