German regulator assesses offer by Italy's Unicredit for 29.99% stake in Commerzbank

Italian bank UniCredit on Monday informed the regulator of its plan to take a minority stake of 29.99% in Commerzbank , a spokesman for the German competition authority confirmed to Reuters.

According to the agency, notification of the merger operation dates from Monday, with the German regulator now having a period of one month to decide, in a first phase, whether it is likely to create significant barriers to competition.

Unicredit announced an initial 9% stake in Commerzbank in September, angering the Berlin government and the German bank, which described the move as hostile and unilateral. The Italian bank, however, has not backed down and is also awaiting approval from the European Central Bank for the stake it built largely using derivatives.

In December , Unicredit's stake in Commerzbank consisted of 9.5% direct ownership of the bank's securities and around 18.5% in financial instruments, but the Italian bank is looking to further strengthen its position. And, as previously reported, if this regulatory process to obtain permission to hold up to 29.9% of Commerzbank is approved, the financial institution led by Andrea Orcel will be able to convert its stake through financial instruments into direct ownership.

UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said he wanted to wait until a new government was in place in Berlin after Sunday's election before making an offer for the rest of Commerzbank.