德国商业银行董事长转向接受与裕信银行谈判，但控制权格局早已在7月8日公开

Commerzbank chair calls for talks with UniCredit after takeover battle
Commerzbank chair Jens Weidmann has called for talks with UniCredit, acknowledging that the Italian bank is likely to succeed in taking control of the German lender after a takeover battle that has run for almost two years.
Weidmann’s comments underline a shift to a more conciliatory tone from Commerzbank towards Milan-based UniCredit, whose efforts to take control of the business have been resisted by Germany’s second-largest lender.
UniCredit is set to amass a near-50 per cent holding in Commerzbank after it asked investors to tender their shares in an offer that closed this month.
“Even though we would have preferred things to be different, the balance of power at the next annual general meeting is clear,” Weidmann said in a statement on Friday.
He added that the two sides should now seek to agree on key protections for employees, shareholders and customers, saying talks were also in UniCredit’s interests and that there would be “no shortcut through Berlin”. “Everyone needs to act like adults now,” he said.
Commerzbank’s softening of approach is being mirrored by the German government, which owns about 13 per cent of the lender, and has sided with the bank’s management and supervisory board in opposing a deal.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that Berlin was “not blocking this merger or this takeover”, but has disapproved of the “confrontational” and at times “aggressive” manner in which Commerzbank was targeted.
He added that the government had not tendered its near-13 per cent stake in the bank, but had to “accept that a significant proportion of Commerzbank’s owners have decided otherwise”.
The saga has run since September 2024 when a government auction of a 4.5 per cent stake unexpectedly handed the entire block to UniCredit, helping it build an initial 9 per cent holding. UniCredit now owns 26.8 per cent directly, with its overall position set to rise to 47.6 per cent of the shares following its takeover offer.
UniCredit said on Thursday that it expected to control close to 50 per cent of Commerzbank’s voting rights once regulators approved the transfer of shares tendered under its takeover offer. The approvals could come as early as the end of the year.
A stake of that size would probably be enough to secure a majority in votes at shareholder meetings, where turnout typically falls well short of 100 per cent.
UniCredit chief executive Andrea Orcel said he would seek to speak with the German government and Commerzbank’s labour representatives in the coming months but made no mention of talks with the lender’s management.
It has outlined plans for a far-reaching overhaul of the German lender, saying it would boost profitability, and has floated the idea of replacing Commerzbank’s senior management. Even after taking control, UniCredit would initially retain Commerzbank as a separate entity while carrying out the restructuring ahead of a potential full merger, Orcel said.
Commerzbank chief executive Bettina Orlopp has said she is open to talks. The bank has stressed that achieving meaningful synergies from a combination within a reasonable timeframe will require a “consensual solution” involving its management, employees and the German government.
The German lender is due to report second-quarter results on August 6, when meetings with its investors will potentially give Orcel and Orlopp a chance to hold talks.