MILAN, March 22 (Reuters) - UniCredit is weighing three options to potentially sweeten its all-share takeover offer for Commerzbank, Italian daily Il Messaggero reported on Sunday without citing
UniCredit Explores New Options to Enhance All-Share Commerzbank Acquisition Bid
UniCredit Considers Strategies to Sweeten Commerzbank Offer
MILAN, March 22 (Reuters) - UniCredit is weighing three options to potentially sweeten its all-share takeover offer for Commerzbank, Italian daily Il Messaggero reported on Sunday without citing sources.
A representative for UniCredit referred to recent comments by CEO Andrea Orcel, who said last week that an offer with a higher premium was not being considered at the moment.
Potential Options for Improving the Offer
Option 1: Increased Swap Ratio and Cash Component
* UniCredit could hike the swap ratio to 0.50-0.52 UniCredit shares per Commerzbank share with a 20%-30% cash component, for an outlay of between 8 billion ($9.3 billion) and 12 billion euros and a premium of 10%-15%, the newspaper reported.
Option 2: Higher Cash Payment Proportion
* UniCredit may consider paying in cash 40%-50% of the total, bringing the premium to 15%-20%, the paper added.
Option 3: Shareholder Choice Between Cash and Shares
* UniCredit could give Commerzbank shareholders the option to choose between a bigger cash or a bigger share component, possibly with a floor on the price, for a premium of at least 15%, the paper said.
Current Bid and Regulatory Expectations
Details of the Current Bid
* UniCredit announced on Monday a 35 billion euro ($40.5 billion) bid to increase its Commerzbank stake, currently sitting just below 30%.
* UniCredit expects the bid's low premium to limit the take-up, lifting the stake just above 30% - the mandatory takeover threshold - and leaving it free to buy Commerzbank shares on the open market next year.
Potential for Bid Improvement
* Orcel said on Wednesday that UniCredit was open to improving the bid if talks with Commerzbank led to a shared vision.
Regulatory Input on Exchange Ratio
* Germany's financial regulator is expected to set the bid's exchange ratio at 0.485 UniCredit shares for each Commerzbank share - a 4% premium to the pre-announcement price.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8643 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by David Holmes and Mark Porter)
