The Wall Street Journal | Financial Services Roundup: Market Talk

Italy’s manoeuvre to derail UniCredit’s bid for Banco BPM without formally vetoing it hasn’t gone unnoticed in Spain, MKP Advisors write as the Spanish government assesses how to move forward on BBVA’s takeover offer for Sabadell. “While the legal triggers may differ, the political strategy that may be at play here is strikingly similar: use formal regulatory mechanisms (eg. ‘general interest’ concerns) to impose radical conditions, not to block a transaction outright but to push the acquiring party, in this case BBVA, to walk away on its own,” analyst Mark Kelly writes. Spain, which from the start has opposed a tie-up, can moderate conditions imposed by the competition regulator in the final phase review under current legislation. However, the current trajectory suggests it intends to tighten up those demands, he adds.

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