Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 7, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 7, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleCommerzbank firmly rebuffed UniCredit’s takeover overture on April 7, 2026, citing insufficient value upside and lack of an adequate premium in the Italian bank’s offer.
FRANKFURT, April 7 (Reuters) - Commerzbank said on Tuesday UniCredit had not offered its shareholders "sufficient value upside potential", the latest salvo in the German bank's efforts to fend off the Italian suitor's deal overtures.
Commerzbank also said UniCredit had been unwilling "to offer Commerzbank shareholders a necessary adequate premium".
The German lender said it rejected critical statements by UniCredit in its invitation last week to convene an extraordinary shareholder meeting on UniCredit's planned takeover offer.
In the invitation to investors to the extraordinary session on May 4, UniCredit said Commerzbank had not been constructive in its responses.
"It is still uncertain whether Commerzbank will engage in a constructive dialogue on a possible combination or other forms of meaningful cooperation," UniCredit said at the time.
The German bank, for its part, said on Tuesday several interactions had taken place over recent weeks
"A significant part of the potential outlined by UniCredit is not based on a combination of the two institutions and can therefore also be realized by Commerzbank independently, without the significant execution risks associated with a transaction," it added.
(Writing by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Miranda Murray and Madeline Chambers)
Commerzbank said UniCredit had not offered sufficient value upside potential or an adequate premium for its shareholders.
UniCredit said Commerzbank had not been constructive in its responses to the proposed takeover discussions.
It remains uncertain if Commerzbank will engage in constructive dialogue with UniCredit regarding a takeover or cooperation.
The extraordinary shareholder meeting on UniCredit's planned takeover offer is scheduled for May 4.
Commerzbank believes much of the potential outlined by UniCredit can be achieved independently, without the execution risks of a merger.
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