UniCredit 's CEO Andrea Orcel revealed his hand this week as the Italian lender built a 9% stake in Commerzbank — and a takeover bid for the German rival could still be in the cards.
UniCredit faces a number of hurdles before increasing its stake after filing a request to "potentially exceed 9.9% of Commerzbank if and when necessary."
Commerzbank shares soared on Wednesday when news of UniCredit's position was announced, and compounded gains on Thursday following speculation of an imminent takeover.
Whispers cooled in January, however, when Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said that merger and acquisition activity was not a priority for the group at the time.
A UniCredit takeover of Commerzbank would emerge as a rare, if long-awaited, instance of consolidation among Europe's banking titans.
Persons:
UniCredit, Andrea Orcel, Orcel, it's, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing
Organizations:
Bloomberg, HypoVereinsbank, Alpha Bank, Hellenic Financial Stability, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian, Commerzbank, titans
Locations:
Commerzbank, Germany, Munich