FRANKFURT, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The German government on Tuesday rejected Italian bank UniCredit's takeover offer for Commerzbank, further escalating the battle over Germany's second-largest private bank.
The Federal Republic's finance agency, based in Frankfurt, said accepting the offer was out of the question from an economic perspective, as the bid does not include an adequate premium over Commerzbank's current share price.
At the same time, the German government, which holds around 12 percent of Commerzbank and is the bank's second-largest shareholder, reiterated its opposition to the planned takeover. In a statement, the government said it supported Commerzbank's strategy of remaining independent and rejected what it called UniCredit's "aggressive approach."
The government emphasized that Commerzbank plays an important role in financing the German economy and the country's small and medium-sized enterprises.
It added that the bank is also a major employer and central to Frankfurt's status as a financial hub, saying both roles must be preserved in the future.
Analysts have described the proposed UniCredit-Commerzbank tie-up as a landmark test case for eurozone banking consolidation. The Leibniz Institute for Financial Research said the move had reignited debate over consolidation in Europe's banking sector and the role of politics in cross-border bank mergers. ■