In the largest ever cross-border banking deal in Europe, the HVB Group of Germany agreed for an £10.4bn ($18.7 bn) takeover by leading Italian bank, Unicredito SpA.
Stating at an executives’ meet in Munich, HVB said, “The management board and the supervisory board of HypoVereinsbank approved the business combination.” It added that Unicredito put on offer five of its shares for every HVB share, pricing the acquisition contract at £10.4bn. Unicredito is also supposed to have proposed cash or stock for HVB's Austrian and Polish units’ outstanding shares.
Meanwhile, Unicredito revealed that the deal came about over a meeting at Milan. Nevertheless, the consent of shareholders and regulators of both the groups is still awaited for the marriage to consummate. Once a nod is received by the shareholders, Unicredito’s chief executive, Alessandro Profumo will administer the merged bank from Milan and also gain a strong grip over the banking industry in Germany and Austria with HVB under its arm.
Nevertheless, the scene is not as rosy in the German financial industry, since as many as 9000 jobs will be made redundant, primarily in Germany and Eastern Europe. This deal between HVB and Unicredito is further expected to induce other foreign takeover deal as well.
In fact, the ongoing struggle between Netherlands’ ABN Amro and Banca Popolare di Lodi to win over Banca Antonveneta of Italy is a clear indicator of the consolidation trend.
Posted
on : Tue, 14 Jun 2005 10:50 GMT | Banking News
By : Rob Davis
|
