Banking industry: US hedge fund secures stake in Commerzbank

The takeover struggle for Commerzbank is attracting speculative investors. The US hedge fund DE Shaw has secured access to a good five percent of Commerzbank shares through financial instruments, according to a voting rights notification from the institute.

The background is a possible takeover of the second largest German private bank by the Italian Unicredit. She unexpectedly joined Commerzbank on a large scale in September, which drove up the share price sharply. Unicredit has secured the option through financial instruments to increase its stake in Commerzbank from 9 to 21 percent. This would make the Italians by far the largest shareholder – ahead of the federal government, which holds around twelve percent. But the increase still needs to be approved by the European Central Bank, which oversees the largest banks in the euro zone.

At the same time, Unicredit has applied for permission to increase its share to up to 29.9 percent. From 30 percent, it would be legally obliged to submit a public takeover offer for Commerzbank. In such situations, hedge funds like to invest in companies because they bet on a usual takeover premium or further price increases.

The federal government has decided not to sell any more Commerzbank shares until further notice. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of an “unfriendly attack”.