Without permission from the ECB, which can only be granted after a holder control procedure lasting several months, Unicredit is not allowed to increase its shareholding in Commerzbank to more than 10 percent. With the help of the investment banks UBS and Barclays, Unicredit has already secured options that will give it access to a total of a good 21 percent of Commerzbank shares. Now Jefferies' share may be added. To outsiders, however, it looks as if at least some of the reported put and call options on Commerzbank shares were intended to hedge prices. Unicredit boss Andrea Orcel emphasized that the Italian bank could sell its Commerzbank shares again.
Since Unicredit acquired a larger stake in Commerzbank on September 11th by purchasing a block of shares from the federal government and applied to the ECB for approval to acquire more than 30 percent, the Commerzbank share price has increased by around 15 percent. Unicredit could try to “freeze” these profits on its Commerzbank investment using derivatives and thus be covered for all eventualities.
