Italian banking giant Unicredit has reached a new level of escalation in the takeover battle for Commerzbank. As Handelsblatt reports, the group is for the first time openly threatening to replace the supervisory board and the management board of the German institute. This would be an affront to the German government, which still holds around twelve percent of Commerzbank.
The background to the threat is the ongoing voluntary public takeover offer, which has been running since May 5, 2026. Shareholders of Commerzbank can exchange their shares for 0.485 Unicredit shares per Commerzbank share. According to the Italians, around eleven percent of outstanding Commerzbank shares have been tendered so far, bringing the stake to a calculated 37 percent. The offer period ends on June 16, 2026.
Commerzbank accuses Unicredit of artificially inflating its position. It has filed a request with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to investigate the matter. In addition, Commerzbank’s central works council has filed a criminal complaint on suspicion of market manipulation and misrepresentation. The Frankfurt am Main public prosecutor’s office confirmed that a criminal complaint had been received since Sunday evening and that preliminary investigations into possible market manipulation were being conducted.
Unicredit stated that if it gains sufficient support from shareholders at the annual general meeting, it would be able to elect the shareholder representatives on the supervisory board. This supervisory board, in turn, would be responsible for appointing the management board under Section 84 (1) of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG). This would effectively give Unicredit control over Commerzbank.
EuroPulse reported on June 12, 2026, on the German government’s draft law on the EU AI Regulation (https://europulse.today/ki-verordnung-umsetzung-deutschland-gesetzentwurf/).
Source: www.handelsblatt.com
