Germany, a 12% shareholder in Commerzbank, has rejected the hostile public exchange offer (OPS) launched by UniCredit, opting to preserve the German bank's independence and denouncing what it deems an "aggressive" approach by the Italian group.
The decision was announced in a statement by the German Finance Agency (Finanzagentur), which manages the state's stake in Commerzbank. Accepting the offer was already described as "economically out of the question", the note said, since the bid does not include an adequate premium over Commerzbank's current share price.