PREMIUM SEARCH Search by job title, geography and build a list of executive contacts
The battle for control of Commerzbank is entering its final phase. Hansgeorg Hoffman, who heads up Cobra, the holding company that has built up a 17% stake in Germany's fourth-largest bank over the past two months, is reportedly in "serious talks" with several potential acquirers. Although their identity is a closely guarded secret, they are rumored to include the two big Dutch banks, ING Group and ABN-AMRO, as well as Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group and Britain's HSBC Group. A deal could be unveiled as early as next week.
Meanwhile, Martin Kohlhaussen, Commerz' chief executive, is busy rallying support from its other big shareholders, which include Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali, which has a 5% stake, and Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano, which has 4.8%. Kohlhaussen says he is committed to keeping Commerzbank independent and maintaining "our existing successful business policy." The word in Frankfurt is that Generali may act as a white knight when Hoffman chooses a final merger candidate. "We're heading for the mother of all battles," say one senior Commerzbank executive. "We are going to fight, and we will win."
FULL VALUE.
Cobra, which is owned by Clemens Vedder and Klaus-Peter Schneidewin, German financiers who specialize in corporate takeovers, started stalking Commerz in early April. They hoped to make a quick killing by exploiting the merger craze sweeping through European banking. Commerz has long been talked about as a likely acquisition target because it is too small to have Europewide ambitions but cannot remain a purely a German bank, either. "Cobra cannot change the already begun process of consolidation in Europe," Hoffman told shareholders at Commerz' annual meeting on May 26. "But it can accelerate it.
"By finding a partner for Commerz, Hoffman says he can exploit the full value of the bank, which he calculates to be worth about $47 a share, judging by its breakup value. Commerz shares are currently trading well below that level, at around $36.
At first, it seemed that Kohlhaussen and Hoffman would be able to work together. Kohlhaussen had hinted that he would be interested in a merger if the conditions were right. He even had talks with archrival Dresdner Bank after its planned merger with Deutsche Bank fell apart in April. (Hoffman was a Dresdner board member until three years ago, when he was forced to resign because of personal tax irregularities).
"DANGEROUS."
But tensions bubbled to the surface at Commerz' annual meeting. Hoffman called for a merger, and Kohlhaussen retaliated with claims that Hoffman's comments were "dangerous" and "irresponsible" and said that it was up to management to determine "whether and in what form cooperation with others is sensible.
"Since then, Kohlhaussen has called on Cobra to name the potential merger partners it is talking to. "Who are these eventual partners?" he asked on television on May 30. "I don't know who they are. The best idea would be to meet with us and exchange ideas if they have something interesting in mind." But Hoffman is keeping mum. "We aren't saying anything at this stage," he told Business Week Online. "We just want to work together with Commerzbank to get the best solution.
"Market watchers expect an answer within the next few days.
By David Fairlamb in Frankfurt
EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed.
Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video.
To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here.
Copyright 2000 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
