Customers enter a Commerzbank branch on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, in Berlin, Germany.
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Commerzbank shares jumped at the open on Wednesday after Italian bank UniCredit acquired a 4.5% stake in the Frankfurt-based bank from the German government.
As of 8:52 a.m. London time, Commerzbank shares were up 17.4%.
The stake purchase marks the first step in Berlin’s exit from the German bank. The German government said it had sold about 53.1 million shares of Commerzbank, or about 4.49% of its total 16.49% stake, to UniCredit for about 702 million euros ($775 million).
The German government said it remains Commerzbank’s largest shareholder even with a 12% reduction in its shareholding. Berlin has held a stake in Commerzbank since it injected 18.2 billion euros to rescue Commerzbank during the 2008 financial crisis. The government has so far repaid approximately 13.15 billion euros of this amount said last week.
“Commerzbank has once again proven that it can stand on its own feet. With the first partial sale of this investment, it will mark the successful stabilization of the investment bank and thus the exit of the federal government,” said the head of the Federal Financial Services Agency.
UniCredit said in a separate statement that it had taken a 9% stake in Commerzbank and confirmed that half of the stake was acquired from the government.
“In order to maintain flexibility, UniCredit will file regulatory filings if necessary to obtain authorization for a possible stake in Commerzbank exceeding 9.9%,” UniCredit said. The bank’s Milan-listed shares were up as of 08:52 a.m. in London. 3%.
Commerzbank did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The latest stake deal has reignited speculation about whether UniCredit will seek to buy Commerzbank to create a German banking giant. CNBC has reached out to UniCredit for comment.
This breaking news story is being updated.
