Exclusive-UniCredit to win unconditional EU nod for Commerzbank deal, sources say

UniCredit to Secure Unconditional EU Approval for Commerzbank Acquisition

Regulatory Approval and Implications of the UniCredit-Commerzbank Deal

By Foo Yun Chee and Valentina Za

Overview of the Acquisition

BRUSSELS/ROME, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit is set to secure unconditional EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of Germany's second biggest bank Commerzbank, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Significance of the European Commission's Approval

The European Commission's approval underscores the regulatory push for cross-border financial mergers to create European champions. It will come on the heels of the European Central Bank's green light for the deal last month.

Timeline and Statements from UniCredit

UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said on Monday that all the remaining regulatory approvals for UniCredit to take control of Commerzbank would come before the end of November, sooner than anticipated.

The Commission and UniCredit both declined to comment.

Decision Deadline and Initial Concerns

The Commission, which is the EU competition enforcer, is due to decide on the deal by November 16.

The EU watchdog initially had some concerns about whether Berlin's demand that the government keeps two supervisory board seats at Commerzbank complied with EU laws, the people said.

Background on Government Stake and Supervisory Board Seats

The German government, which still owns 13.3% of Commerzbank, has been able to name two of the 10 shareholder representatives on the 20-strong supervisory board since bailing out the bank during the global financial crisis.

However, UniCredit has said it wants to appoint all of the shareholder representatives, which would leave no room for the two seats the bank has reserved for the government since its 2009 rescue.

Resolution of Regulatory Issues

Regulators expect the issue to be resolved in time for the EU green light in mid-November or if not, for it to be examined at a later stage, one of the people said.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Valentina Za; Editing by Susan Fenton)