Zurich, Sabadell's second-largest shareholder, rejects BBVA's takeover bid.

MadridZurich Insurance, the second largest shareholder in Banc Sabadell with nearly 5% of the share capital, has expressed its intention not to participate in the hostile takeover bid launched by BBVA, according to Bloomberg.. "The current takeover bid is not an attractive proposition for Sabadell shareholders beyond the company's prospects alone," a spokesperson for the insurer told Bloomberg.

Zurich controls 4.947% of Sabadell, as recorded with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), a stake that has been increasing since BBVA launched the hostile takeover bid more than 17 months ago. The firm has an alliance with the Catalan bank for the marketing of insurance products. BBVA CEO Onur Genç stated that "Zurich Insurance is Sabadell's insurance business partner. They obviously want to protect their business."

The insurer Zurich became the first major shareholder on Tuesday to publicly say it will not participate in the takeover bid. The insurer's announcement coincides with Banc Sabadell's request to the CNMV to Keep an eye on shareholders who anticipate what their decision will be regarding the takeover bid. and demands that it be "irrevocable."

Sabadell has put this request on the table after Mexican investor David Martínez, Sabadell's third largest shareholder with 3.89% of the share capital and a director of the bank, announced his intention to participate in the takeover bid and, therefore, accept BBVA's offer. Last week, Martínez made this intention public, breaking the unanimous support of the Vallesan bank's management regarding acceptance of BBVA's offer.

Who are Sabadell's shareholders?

In recent hours, BBVA and Sabadell have launched a figures war regarding the takeover bid's acceptance rate, that is, the percentage of shareholders who will sell their shares. The Basque bank believes it will achieve an acceptance rate of between 60% and 70% of share capital. In other words, it will exceed the minimum acceptance rate, set at 50% (although it has opened the door to waiving that minimum requirement). Sabadell, on the other hand, sees it as "practically impossible" to reach that 50% and even questions whether it can reach 30% (anything below that would definitely derail the takeover).

Sabadell's largest shareholder is Blackrock, which already exceeds the 7% threshold. After Zurich (4.9%) and David Martínez (3.89%), the other key institutional shareholders in the takeover bid will be Dimensional Fund (2.873%), UBS (2.811%), Norges Bank (2.177%), Goldman Sachs (1.490%), Vanguard (1.73%) (1.212%), Qube (1.021%), and JP Morgan Chase (1.009%). All of them account for more than 50% of Sabadell's share capital. Meanwhile, just over 40% of the capital is distributed among minority shareholders who, so far, have expressed their opposition to the takeover bid.

Comertia's chairman, Ignasi Pietx, stated this Tuesday that "a majority of shareholders do not consider BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell to be a good option, although the final decision rests with the shareholders." The president of the Catalan small business association stated that more than 70% of Comertia's members believe the takeover bid would "negatively" affect commerce due to the risk of concentration of the Catalan economy and competition for the local market.