Last Friday, BBVA updated the US prospectus for the public takeover bid (OPA) for Banco Sabadell to reflect the continued rejection expressed by the Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Body, to the operation, according to Europa Press.
Specifically, BBVA states in the document that Corpus expressed its opposition to the takeover bid and the merger of BBVA with Banco Sabadell on May 10, one day after the proposal was made public. Likewise, since then, it has maintained this rejection whenever it has been publicly questioned on the matter.
In any case, the bank warns that this position of the minister comes before having known the reports of the European Central Bank (ECB), the National Commission of the Securities Market (CNMV), the General Directorate of Insurance or the unit of prevention of money laundering. (Sepblac).
The bank headed by Carlos Torres also states that the minister spoke “before the examination and analysis of the proposal by the technicians of the ministry”. “BBVA is not aware of any precedent of a Spanish operation in which the merger after taking control of a credit institution has not been authorized by the Ministry of Economy”, the bank states in the brochure, which is why it considers his veto as a “very remote” possibility.
Corps has repeatedly shown its action towards an integration that would reduce the level of competition in Spain. And this Monday, it has done it again. In an interview with Expansión, it affirms that it continues “with the same concern about the impact of the takeover bid” because the level of concentration could be “excessive”.
The update of the prospectus, which does not detail any significant changes in the conditions or effectiveness of the offer, also aims to explain in more detail the operations that BBVA can execute with the shares of Banco Sabadell.
After launching a public takeover bid and in order to maintain the neutrality of the operation, BBVA was prohibited, both by the CNMV and the SEC, from acquiring Sabadell shares on its own. In the case of the CNMV, this prohibition includes certain exceptions when it comes to transactions with customers in the normal course of their business. In the case of the American market, BBVA must apply to the stock market regulator of that country, the SEC. The bank requested authorization and it was granted on May 29.
In the updated document, BBVA also discusses the possible risks that it may not be able to obtain all the benefits and synergies expected from carrying out the public tender offer.
The bank supports the merger on the basis of savings of 850 million euros per year, for which it will bear restructuring costs of 1,450 million euros. In the new document, the bank includes the possibility that if the merger is not carried out, it is “unlikely” to obtain all the effects of these synergies.
“Even if the merger is not finalized, [el banco] “It will be able to centralize certain Banco Sabadell processes within BBVA and operate both banks from a common IT platform with multi-banking functionalities for all products, services and systems,” the entity said.
