(Bloomberg) -- An influential Commerzbank AG investor urged the lender to engage in talks with UniCredit SpA, as the government in Berlin acknowledged there’s little it can do should the Italian rival continue to raise its stake.
Commerzbank should be willing “to have an open dialog,” said Alexandra Annecke, a portfolio manager at Union Investment, which says it owns 1.5% in the lender. “Cooperation with UniCredit - in whichever form - doesn’t need to be to Commerzbank’s detriment.”
The call follows another twist in the drama, with Commerzbank replacing its top leadership and naming finance chief Bettina Orlopp to succeed Manfred Knof as CEO. While Orlopp has so far reacted coolly to UniCredit’s approach, her appointment establishes clear responsibilities for any talks between the two parties, which had been muddied by Knof’s announcement that he wouldn’t seek another term.
Orlopp is scheduled to speak at a conference on Thursday.
The nature of how UniCredit moved to take a 21% stake in Commerzbank has become a tense political topic, threatening to disrupt relations between Berlin and Rome. While Germany says it was caught off guard, the Italian government and UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel have defended the move.
“The style of UniCredit’s approach has surprised us, has raised questions and has not strengthened confidence” in the Italian bank, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Wednesday during regular government questions in the lower house of parliament.
Still, all sides also signaled there may be a joint way forward, however uneasy. Orcel struck a conciliatory tone, saying at a conference Wednesday that any transaction wouldn’t happen if it’s not wanted by Commerzbank. He vowed to renew efforts to start talks with all “stakeholders” to move on from the current finger-pointing, and said he wouldn’t seek a board seat at the German rival.
“I usually do not believe in investors having board seats,” Orcel said at a conference hosted by Bank of America Corp. “I think it’s inappropriate for us to have a board seat because we’re also a competitor.”
While Berlin reiterated its opposition to a takeover, it also indicated there’s little it can do. Commerzbank should remain independent as it’s “very important” for Europe’s biggest economy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s chief spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said at the regular government news conference Wednesday.
Asked if Germany would try to thwart a hostile attempt to swallow the lender, Hebestreit said there were “no further considerations to fend off anything” beyond the government’s decision to stop selling more shares in Commerzbank for now.
Deutsche Bank effectively ruled out getting involved in the situation, with CFO James von Moltke saying Germany’s largest bank remains focused on its own strategy.
Any talks between Commerzbank and UniCredit would also start under a new leadership, with Orlopp set to take over the CEO role next week. While she has been a member of the lender’s top leadership for several years, it may be easier for her to revamp a strategy that was largely presented under Knof’s name.
Both UniCredit and Commerzbank have seen profitability surge over the past years, partly thanks to higher rates. Yet the German bank continues to trail the Italian lender in key metrics. Orcel has repeatedly argued that his ideas for the German bank may benefit all shareholders, even without a takeover.
Orlopp didn’t mention UniCredit by name, but she did leave the door open to talks. She would work “with all our key partners” to “navigate through the challenges ahead,” she said in a release announcing her appointment late Tuesday.
(Adds that CEO-designate Orlopp is scheduled to speak Thursday, in fourth paragraph.)
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