UniCredit said Wednesday that it owns 47.59% of Commerzbank after acquiring 17.60% of its stock with its takeover offer for the German bank.
    Italy's second-biggest lender said the result was "well ahead of original expectations" for the offer, which was launched in May and closed earlier this month after a two-week extension of the tender period.
    UniCredit started to acquire the German bank's stock in 2024 and had taken its stake up to close to 30%, the threshold at which German law requires a full buyout offer before it can be crossed.
    UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel had said he did not expect the offer to give it control of Commerzbank, but was part of an effort to end a long impasse and to get there in the long term.
    Commerzbank and the German government, which owns around 12% of the bank, are staunchly opposed to the takeover.

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