UniCredit holds 47.6% of Commerzbank as cross-border takeover talks progress

UniCredit now controls 47.6% of Commerzbank’s shares. What started as quiet share purchases in 2024 has snowballed into the most consequential European banking takeover attempt in over a decade, and Germany is finally coming to the table.

The Italian lender’s march toward a controlling stake in Germany’s second-largest private bank has been anything but smooth. But after months of political resistance, hostile-bid labeling, and board-level pushback, the mood in Frankfurt and Berlin has shifted from defiance to negotiation. Commerzbank’s chairman formally invited merger talks in late July 2026, marking a turning point that few observers expected when this saga began.

How UniCredit built its position

UniCredit began accumulating Commerzbank shares back in 2024, a move that immediately rattled German officials. The German government still holds a legacy stake in Commerzbank, a remnant of the taxpayer bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.

In May 2026, UniCredit launched an all-share tender offer that valued Commerzbank at roughly 37 to 39 billion euros. The premium over market price was described as low single digits.

Commerzbank’s management and the German government labeled the bid hostile and undervalued. Only about 2.7% of independent institutional and retail shareholders accepted the initial tender offer.

Through a combination of market purchases and other instruments, the bank pushed its ownership to 47.6% as of July 8, 2026, with potential voting rights reaching as high as 49.7%.

Germany sets its terms

On September 14, 2026, Germany’s Finance Minister publicly outlined the conditions Berlin expects to be met for any merger to proceed. The demands include maintaining Commerzbank’s headquarters in Frankfurt and preserving the bank’s focus on financing SMEs.

Commerzbank’s own leadership appears to have read the room. On July 24, 2026, the bank’s chairman signaled readiness to engage in formal merger discussions with UniCredit.

What a combined entity would look like

If the deal goes through, the merged bank would hold assets exceeding 1.3 trillion euros.

Estimates suggest the merger could lead to job cuts ranging between 7,000 and 11,000 positions.

The deal still requires approval from the European Central Bank and other regulatory bodies.

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