Commerzbank supervisory board members on Tuesday voiced fierce opposition to any takeover of the German bank by Italy’s UniCredit, personally attacking UniCredit’s CEO Andrea Orcel and vowing they were in for a long fight.
Speaking in front of Commerzbank’s headquarters in central Frankfurt, deputy chairman Uwe Tschaege, flanked by three fellow board members and dozens of employees carrying signs of protest, said the message was clear. “We don’t want this,” he said.
“I feel like vomiting when I hear his promises of cost savings,” Tschaege added, referring to Orcel.
The protest marked the latest volley in the potential takeover battle pitting Orcel’s ambitions for a tie-up against deep reluctance from Commerzbank and the government in Berlin.
UniCredit, whose CEO has said he would be interested in a tie-up between the banks, on Monday said it was preparing to increase its stake in Commerzbank to 21%. But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed the move as “an unfriendly attack”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday that her government was keeping out of the matter.
“The Commerzbank affair does not regard the (Italian) government,” she told reporters in New York.
The gathering on the steps of the German bank’s headquarters adds to an increasingly vocal campaign by employees to sway public opinion against a deal.
Stefan Wittmann, another member of the supervisory board, said Orcel was unreliable and a liar for saying he would not launch an unsolicited offer to buy out other investors one week and dramatically raising his stake the next.
“This takeover debate will not be over until the last argument has been exchanged and the last barrier has fallen. And there is a very, very long way to go until then. Mr. Orcel should be prepared for this,” Wittmann said.
UniCredit was not immediately available to comment.
Wittmann said that the government could find another investor who would help keep the bank independent.
“Orcel is not the only one with deep pockets,” he said.
Protesters blew whistles in support of the board members’ antagonism, carrying signs that read: “Stop the merger horror” and “We are better off alone”.
(Writing by Matthias Williams and Tom Sims)
