By Adria Calatayud
Commerzbank Chief Executive Bettina Orlopp said she was surprised by UniCredit's decision to launch a bid for the German bank, partly because of what she called the low price of the offer.
Orlopp's comments came a day after UniCredit--Commerzbank's largest shareholder with a roughly 30% stake--said it would offer to buy all the shares in the German bank it doesn't already own, but that its move aimed to increase its holding above 30% with no expectation to result in majority control. UniCredit said it expected the exchange ratio of its offer to value Commerzbank at 30.8 euros a share, or 34.7 billion euros ($39.93 billion).
"It was a surprise because it was, again, a change of narrative when you compare it to the February messaging," Orlopp said Tuesday at a Morgan Stanley conference in London. "The other surprising thing in relation to it is the offer itself, because it is at a very low price if you compare it to our target prices."
Commerzbank shares were up 1.4% at 32.60 euros in European afternoon trading Tuesday, having closed 8.6% higher on Monday.
Orlopp said Commerzbank would discuss a proposal with UniCredit if it got one and would recommend it if the proposal made sense, but that the bank was focused on its standalone strategy in absence of that proposal.
"We need something in our hands. One would expect that someone who has moved now so far has something in the drawer which they can share with us," she said. "That is the ask which we have."
UniCredit didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 17, 2026 09:28 ET (13:28 GMT)
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