The Italian financial group UniCredit is intensifying its efforts to increase its stake in Commerzbank and has announced it will launch a voluntary takeover bid for the German bank in the form of a share exchange offer. The Italian bank stated that it will offer the minimum required by German market regulations, namely 0.485 new UniCredit ordinary shares for each Commerzbank share contributed, amounting to approximately €35 billion. The Italian entity currently holds a direct stake of 26% in the German bank, which rises to over 28% when financial instruments are included. Its objective is to exceed 30% of the capital, according to a statement. The German government, which is also a Commerzbank shareholder, has repeatedly refused to allow the Italian bank to acquire the institution. UniCredit's offer represents a 4% premium over Friday's closing price. UniCredit explains that the takeover bid is preparing it to "overcome the 30% threshold under German mergers and acquisitions law and foster a constructive dialogue with Commerzbank and its stakeholders in the coming weeks." Securing a stable 30% stake, without control, would allow UniCredit to avoid constantly adjusting its shareholding to remain below this threshold due to the German bank's ongoing share buyback program. At the same time, it would allow UniCredit to increase its stake through market purchases or other means. "UniCredit's board of directors considers this offer a sensible and pragmatic step, without drawbacks, given that the current stake continues to generate significant value, regardless of whether the offer results in an increase in the stake above 30%," the Italian entity stated in its press release. The offer is expected to be formally launched in early May, with a four-week period.

The Spanish government defends its legislation on bank mergers before Brussels. part of which has been used in the context of BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banc SabadellThis Wednesday, the Ministry of Economy sent a letter to the European Commission defending Spanish regulations, as confirmed to ARA by ministry sources. With this letter, Pedro Sánchez's government responds to the infringement proceedings opened by Brussels in Spain this summer, precisely in the midst of the hostile takeover bid. In fact, Spain had until this October to respond.

The BBVA-Banc Sabadell case has opened the door to exploring the limits of the laws that have come into play throughout the hostile takeover bid, one of the most media-covered and politicized in recent years, which ultimately derailed. Consequently, the need, or lack thereof, to review and update some of the regulations has been on the table, the content of which has been at one point or another a key issue during these seventeen months that marked the outcome. The Competition Law and the Takeover Law have been placed in the spotlight. Had a merger between BBVA and Banc Sabadell been successful, the banking law, which leaves it up to the Spanish government to authorize or reject a merger, would also have come into play.

Admired and charming Mr. Oliu (and pardon the inevitable rhyme), I'm writing to you from the ARA (Spanish National Radio), which is more effective than sending you a letter, both to applaud the outcome of the takeover bid and to lament it.

The Serra family has decided to increase the price of the takeover bid launched against Grupo Catalana Occidente (GCO) to achieve full control of the company, of which they already hold a majority. This decision was made by the board of directors of Inocsa, which directly and indirectly holds 61.951% of the capital in the GCO holding company, according to a communication to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). The takeover bid notification was accepted for processing by the stock market supervisor last May and is pending approval.

The business and political storm that ensued from the hostile takeover bid by Gas Natural (now Naturgy) for Endesa led to an update of the takeover bid law in 2007. Almost twenty years later, and as a result of a new storm—BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banc Sabadell—this regulatory framework is back in the spotlight. For days, various voices have been speaking out about the need to revise the law, and this Tuesday, one of the main stakeholders did so: the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), which, as the stock market regulator, has acted as a referee during the process. "We are willing to support the Ministry of Economy if it decides to move forward in this direction [an update of the takeover bid law]," said the president of the agency, Carlos San Basilio, this Tuesday in a media address after his participation in a Deloitte conference.

I'm still here. Just a few minutes ago, the news broke about the failure of BBVA's offensive against Banco Sabadell—this story is over—and Carlos Torres, the president of the attacking bank, was already on the scene. He was in a hurry. The scale of the defeat, after his hyperbolic campaign, might have made him think that if he took too long to leave, perhaps someone else would offer condolences to those who had trusted him.

The outcome of BBVA's takeover bid for Banc de Sabadell was unexpected, both for analysts and for the presidents of both banks, Carlos Torres and Josep Oliu. It's reminiscent of the failure of José Ángel Sánchez Asiaín, president of Banco de Bilbao, when his hostile takeover bid for Banesto failed in 1987. BBVA only achieved a 25% or so approval rate. It was expected that the takeover bid among Sabadell shareholders would be between 30% and 50%, so BBVA had to consider whether to go ahead, and there was speculation about whether the price would be raised (which had to be "fair" and approved by the CNMV).

Everyone, and especially BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres, will be left wondering whether the overwhelming brand loyalty shown by Banc Sabadell's owners would have remained the same had a better offer been made. If the business lacks substance, it was necessary to convince with a price. And if for a lot of small individual shareholders, the name Sabadell still represented something worth defending, it had to be convinced by price and winning hearts.

"This is how we build a country," the Minister of the Presidency declared immediately after the news of the failure of BBVA's takeover bid for Sabadell was made public. Undoubtedly, the outcome is positive for Catalonia, and politics has undoubtedly also had a lot to do with it.

Today you will read the same verb on all the covers as on ours:

"It's been a long time since I've received so many happy messages. Even if it was Christmas or my birthday," explains Joaquim, a lifelong Banc Sabadell shareholder. This Thursday, as the sun was setting and It was officially announced that BBVA's takeover bid for Sabadell had failed, Many Sabadell residents celebrated. "I'm really happy," said Maria, a retiree who admits she's gotten a little fed up with the TV and radio announcements. "I've never fully understood the takeover bid, but since we already lost Caixa de Sabadell, I don't want to lose the bank now," says the daughter of a former bank employee.

The financial intrigue series has ended. After a battle that lasted almost a year and a half, there will be no third season. Only 25.47% of Banco Sabadell's share capital participated in BBVA's hostile takeover bid, according to a statement from the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). This means that the Basque bank's offer has been derailed after falling short of the 30% mark, which was the minimum the bank chaired by Carlos Torres needed if it wanted to gain control of Sabadell. This is the second time Torres has tried to integrate the Catalan bank into BBVA's structure and failed. The hostile takeover bid enjoyed a rare unanimous opposition, which has included the Catalan government, large and small employers' associations, unions, small investors, and public opinion. In fact, the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, has salvaged an undesirable situation, one for which he had counted on the support of the Spanish government, with the conditions imposed on the operation by the Minister of Economy.

Banco Sabadell has released initial figures on BBVA's hostile takeover bid: 97.2% of the Catalan bank's shareholders rejected the Basque bank's takeover bid, and those who accepted, 2.8%, represent only 1.1% of the group's capital, according to a report released Tuesday by the CNMV (National Securities Market Commission). These shareholders represent a total of 30.8% of the Valles-based bank's capital. At market open, both BBVA and Sabadell were down more than 0.5% on the stock market; at the close of trading, however, BBVA closed up 0.72% and Sabadell down 1.09%. The final figures on the bank's shareholders' assessment of BBVA's takeover bid will be announced by the CNMV on October 17.

One minute and result from Gaza: The Israeli government approved the first phase of Donald Trump's plan tonight. And therefore, the ceasefire will go into effect tonight at 12:30, which is 24 hours after its approval. The living hostages will be released between Sunday and Monday, as will the bodies of the hostages. Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip have not stopped. There were airstrikes and artillery fire this Friday morning. Trump announced that he will travel to Egypt this Sunday for the "official signing" of the ceasefire agreement and that he has also agreed to give a speech in the Israeli Parliament. The certainty that Trump will claim the medals is more certain than the ceasefire.

The other day, at a talk on the history of Catalonia, one of the attendees spoke to me about the chronic weakness of the Catalan financial system, and all the attempts by the bourgeoisie to establish a large bank came up, despite the Basque-Madrid hostility, as in the case of the Bank of Catalonia (1 to 3 years) 80, victim of its own mistakes and other people's shady dealings). Then, of course, the BBVA takeover bid for Sabadell was discussed as just another chapter in this unfortunate story, and I noticed that the idea that the takeover bid was an attack on the Basque Country had strongly penetrated the audience. one of our own and that Sabadell should continue to exist. Important figures in the Catalan economy, such as former council members Andreu Mas-Colell and Natàlia Mas, have also expressed their opposition to the merger in this newspaper.

As the acceptance period for BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell approaches, which ends on the 10th, nerves are growing on both sides and the relationship between the two institutions is becoming strained. In fact, the banks have filed complaints against each other with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) for practices they consider inappropriate.

Banco Sabadell CEO César González-Bueno has made his first reaction to the improvement of BBVA's offer by the Vallesan entity in the program More than one Onda Cero this Monday morning, in which he asserted that the new offer is "bad" and, in fact, "worse than the first" they made them.

"It is not mandatory to accept the takeover bid. In fact, the best thing to do is to do nothing, take the paper [of the takeover bid] and throw it in the trash, and you will have fulfilled your duty as a loyal shareholder of Banco Sabadell." This is how the chairman of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, asked his shareholders not to accept BBVA's takeover bid. He did so at a meeting with investors alongside the CEO, César González-Bueno, in which they explained the bank's board's reasons for rejecting the takeover bid. During the meeting, they also took the opportunity to deny the statements made by BBVA chairman Carlos Torres, who said last week that Sabadell's shares would fall if the takeover bid were to fail.: "If there is any fall, it will be short-lived, but little by little the bank will recover its value," said Oliu.

The final hand of the BBVA takeover bid for Sabadell has already quietly begun to be played in the pockets of several thousand Catalans, and now that there are only four weeks left until we find out how the story ends, BBVA chairman Carlos Torres continues his tireless communications policy in Catalonia. It's only natural: this is the second time he's attempted a merger, and these types of contests always end up with a component of personal success or failure, which in this case also affects Josep Oliu, as the head of the opposing party, and which forces him to pour everything into the pot.