Cobra 'backs' Commerz bid

September 3, 2001 Posted: 0700 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- Investment group Cobra has reportedly said it may back a takeover bid for Germany's Commerzbank by Italy's UniCredito Italiano.

Hansgeorg Hofmann, the head of Cobra, was quoted by the Financial Times as saying his company would back a deal "if the price is right". Cobra owns 10 percent of Commerzbank, Germany's third-largest bank by market value.

Commerzbank has refused to comment on reports it is in preliminary merger talks with UniCredito Italiano.

"We've always said foreign banks should take a look at Commerzbank," said Hofmann as reported by the FT.  "A cross-border link-up makes sense. But any deal has to be attractive to shareholders.

"Cost synergies would be easier for a German bank to pick up, but this

is the last shot if you are a foreign bank looking to be in Europe's biggest market. I'm relaxed."

Takeover rumours spur Commerzbank shares

Shares in Commerzbank surged on Friday amid renewed speculation it would be taken over.

The speculation was fuelled after analysts at private bank Sal. Oppenheim said in a research note that they expected to see a takeover of Commerzbank in the next six to nine months, with the likeliest bifdder seen as Assicurazioni Generali, Italy's biggest insurer.

The bank has been widely viewed as a takeover target for UniCredito Italiano after it ended merger talks with cross-town rival Dresdner Bank last year.

Any bid by UniCredito, which has a market value of around 22bn ($20bn) against Commerzbank's 14bn, would be likely to be an all-paper offer, of limited attraction to many shareholders, according to the FT.

Commerzbank reported last month that its second-quarter profit plunged 87 percent amid gloomy financial markets and rising costs.

Several European banks have been reported this year to be interested in Commerzbank, including Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ABN Amro.

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