Italy’s UniCredit has agreed to purchase shares from enough Commerzbank shareholders to bring its total holding to around 34 per cent as part of its ongoing bid for the bank, Bloomberg has reported.

Shares equivalent to 7.57 per cent of Commerzbank have been tendered to its Italian rival, which already owns 26.77 per cent of the bank. This will bring UniCredit’s total holding to 34.35 per cent, the news outlet reported Tuesday, citing a filing made the same day.

UniCredit has been locked in a battle with the German lender since its surprise announcement in March that it intended to raise its stake over 30 per cent through an exchange offer. Since then, Commerzbank has twice rejected its buyout offer, citing the lack of adequate premium and a “coherent and credible strategic plan for a combination”.

In April, UniCredit’s chief executive Andrea Orcel told Bloomberg TV that the bank would pause its acquisition attempt if it was unable to gain control by June 16, when the current bid closes.

The attempt has been criticised in Germany, including by Chancellor Fredrich Merz who made a thinly-veiled reference to the deal in a speech decrying the “aggressive” methods used by some banks.

It was revealed in late May that Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, was preparing a formal bid for Madrid-based wealth manager Singular Bank as part of a competitive sales process launched by its majority owner, Warburg Pincus.

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