Commerzbank supervisory board chair Jens Weidmann has called for a review of Germany’s takeover rules after UniCredit accumulated roughly 48% of the German lender through market purchases, derivative positions and a voluntary exchange offer. UniCredit began building its position in September 2024 and obtained European Central Bank approval to pursue up to 30% before launching an offer on March 16, 2026, proposing 0.485 UniCredit shares for each Commerzbank share. About 17.6% of shares were tendered by early July, although independent shareholders contributed only about 2.7 percentage points. Weidmann said the structure enabled UniCredit to obtain effective control without paying an adequate control premium. German rules generally require a mandatory offer for all remaining shares when a bidder crosses 30%, but the voluntary offer structure treated the threshold differently. Commerzbank’s board recommended rejecting the offer as financially inadequate, while the German government, which owns nearly 13%, called it aggressive and insufficiently generous. Weidmann later invited UniCredit to merger talks, and CEO Bettina Orlopp said discussions would require a non-hostile, partnership-oriented approach. Regulatory clearances are expected as soon as the fourth quarter of 2026, making the terms of UniCredit’s relationship with Commerzbank increasingly central to the dispute.