Takeover dispute with Unicredit – Lindner probably wants to keep all options open at Commerzbank – Economy

According to his personal economic advisor, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has not made a decision in the dispute over a possible takeover of Commerzbank by the Italian Unicredit. Lindner is more reserved on the matter than Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who has clearly positioned himself against the steps taken by Unicredit boss Andrea Orcel, economist Lars Feld told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. The former head of the economists added that the Federal Finance Minister was keeping “all options open” in this matter and was not pushing in any direction. However, liberals are known to be market-oriented. And cross-border mergers were part of a capital markets union: “Strong opposition to such mergers would undermine the seriousness of German support for the capital markets union,” said Feld.

According to insiders, Lindner personally became involved in the takeover dispute. In discussions with the Italian Finance Ministry, the FDP politician recently warned against a hostile takeover of the second largest listed bank in Germany, as the Reuters news agency learned from two people familiar with the process. Lindner’s spokesman recently said that the minister was in constant contact with his European colleagues, but that there were no individual conversations that they wanted to comment on.

Unicredit boss Orcel surprised Commerzbank and its major shareholder, the federal government, by joining the Frankfurt financial institution. Unicredit bought 4.5 percent of the shares from the federal government in a placement and had already secured a further 4.5 percent in advance. According to its own information, Unicredit now has access to up to 21 percent of the shares in the financial institution via financial derivatives. The federal government still holds twelve percent of Commerzbank and has temporarily suspended further sales from the package acquired during the financial crisis.

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