Finance

Orcel’s Surprise Swoop on Commerzbank Was Long in the Making

UniCredit CEO has spent years looking for banking targets
Germany sold some of Commerzbank stake to UniCredit this week

WATCH: Commerzbank’s executive board is reviewing its defense strategy. Oliver Crook reports.Source: Bloomberg

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By Sonia Sirletti, Jan-Henrik Foerster, Arno Schuetze, and Eyk Henning

September 11, 2024 at 6:43 PM UTC

Updated on

September 12, 2024 at 7:13 AM UTC

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This summer, the German government appeared ready to finally reduce its stake in Commerzbank AG. It was a moment Andrea Orcel, chief executive officer of UniCredit SpA, had also been anticipating.

On Wednesday, UniCredit revealed that it now owned 9% of Commerzbank, adding all the shares Berlin offered this week to a position it had quietly built in the market in recent weeks when speculation of a possible sale mounted. Many in Germany were caught flat-footed by the move.