Commerzbank The company intends to protect the interests of its shareholders as the takeover battle with Italy continues. unicreditsaid Bettina Orlop, CEO of the German lender, on Friday.
Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe,” Orlop said Commerzbank remained open to talks with UniCredit, but stressed the Milan-based bank needed to recognize the strength of its “credible and ambitious” solo strategy in any new talks.
Commerzbank reported an operating profit of 1.36 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in the first quarter and is currently targeting a net return on tangible equity of 21% by 2030. The German lender expects net interest income to reach around 8.6 billion euros in 2026.
The company plans to cut about 3,000 jobs in order to reach its goal.
Commerzbank shares fell 2.6% in early trading. UniCredit is trading 1.9% lower.
Orlop said UniCredit’s proposal to review Commerzbank’s management if it takes control “does not reflect the strength” of Deutsche Bank’s business model. He also criticized the lack of details on how Commerzbank would be integrated with Hypofereinsbank, a subsidiary of Munich-based UniCredit.
“Given our standalone strategy and the upside potential we present today, we expect a premium, and shareholders should expect a premium,” Orop said in an interview with CNBC’s Annette Weisbach.
“There are very few details regarding the integration with HVB. There are no details regarding pan-European synergies,” Orlop said, adding that pan-European synergies “remain difficult to realize” without a formal European banking union.
Commerzbank.
Orlop said Commerzbank remains “completely open” to further discussions with UniCredit.
“However, we hope that you will be willing to accept the strength and fundamentals of our business model and, most importantly, the premium to our shareholders,” she added. “We are here to protect the interests of our shareholders.”
UniCredit already holds a 28% stake in Commerzbank and aims to raise its position above 30%, a key regulatory threshold in any takeover bid.
Orlop declined to comment on rumors that the German government, which owns a 12% stake in Commerzbank, could increase its stake as part of an alternative plan.
But he said Berlin’s interest reflected its view that UniCredit’s proposed takeover would “definitely be a blow” to Germany’s diverse small and medium-sized enterprises, known as the Mittelstand, which are “the backbone of our economy”.
On Monday, UniCredit shareholders voted to approve the issuance of 470 million new shares, which could be exchanged for Commerzbank shares in a tender offer to the German financial institution.
UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel told CNBC that while he does not expect the Italian lender to gain overall control of Commerzbank, its growing influence is already forcing the German bank’s management to “review everything that needs to be reviewed, to extract more value, to be more ambitious (and) to try to change things for the better.”
—CNBC’s Domi Suskova contributed to this article.
