Germany’s Lindner Says UniCredit Rattled Commerzbank Investors
(Bloomberg) - German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said his government decided to suspend sales of Commerzbank AG shares because UniCredit SpA's surprise move on the lender had unnerved investors.
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"The style of the UniCredit approach has unsettled many shareholders in Germany, which is why the German government has decided not to sell any further shares," Lindner said Tuesday during an event at his ministry in Berlin.
The Italian lender's maneuvers in building a 21% stake in Germany's second-biggest bank, which triggered resistance to a possible takeover from Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition, "has raised questions," Lindner added.
At the same time, he made it clear that the government is committed to shedding its remaining 12% Commerzbank holding over the longer term.
"The federal government has always made it clear that Commerzbank must be privatized," Lindner, the chairman of the Free Democrats, told reporters.
"There are public policy reasons for this: the state cannot be a shareholder in a competitive institution in the long term."
Asked if the government wants to prevent UniCredit from swallowing Commerzbank, he said it's a matter for the lender's management and supervisory boards.
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