Spain’s antitrust body clears BBVA-Sabadell takeover, awaits government

Spain’s antitrust body clears BBVA-Sabadell takeover, awaits government


Signage outside a Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA), right, and a Banco Sabadell SA, left, bank branch in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Spain’s competition watchdog CNMC approved on Wednesday the proposed acquisition of Banco Sabadell by its larger rival BBVA, though the combined lender will have to accept several remedies in its retail banking arm if the long-running hostile takeover bid clears the remaining hurdles.

The deal, valued at around 12 billion euros ($13.59 billion) when it turned hostile last May, is opposed by the Spanish government. An economy ministry spokesperson said it would pore over the CNMC report once it has received it.

The deal also has to be authorized by the stock market supervisor CNMV before the bid can be effectively launched.

BBVA wants to create the second-biggest bank in Spain by credit volume after Caixabank, which would also have over 1 trillion euros ($1.13 trillion) in total assets.

Stock Chart IconStock chart icon

hide content

Banco Sabadell

The CNMC said the commitments presented by BBVA to address competition issues in the affected markets were “adequate, sufficient and proportionate.”

In a statement, BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila said that the remedies that “we assume favor financial inclusion, territorial cohesion, credit for SMEs and the self-employed, and preserve competitiveness, especially in places where Banco Sabadell has a greater presence, such as Catalonia.”

Sabadell countered that the methodology used by the CNMC was not “appropriate” to analyze the implications that the combination of both banks would have on SMEs and clients.

The CNMC also concluded that the deal posed a threat to effective competition in certain areas of the retail banking and payment services market, where the merged entity exceeds a 30% combined market share.

BBVA committed to divest certain levels of stakes in payment processing companies (Redsys, Sistema de Tarjetas y Medios de Pago, Bizum and Servired) as mandated by these companies’ bylaws.

To address concerns, BBVA said it would not close branches where there is no other branch within 300 meters (0.19 miles), in postal codes with a per capita income below 10,000 euros and where there are fewer than three competitors.

It also vowed not to leave behind any municipality in which there are fewer than three competitors.

As for SMEs and the self-employed, BBVA also committed to maintain working capital lines for three years, extendable by two more years, for all SMEs working with Sabadell.

Under Spanish law, the government cannot stop a bid from being made, but it has the final word on whether a merger goes ahead.

Competition legislation limits the government’s scope for intervention but since the antitrust regulator has set remedies in its review, Spain’s economy ministry has now 15 business days to take the deal to a cabinet meeting.

The government then has a month to oppose it, known unofficially as a “phase 3 review.”



Source

Russia hits Ukraine with the largest drone-and-missile attack of the war so far, killing at least 12
World

Russia hits Ukraine with the largest drone-and-missile attack of the war so far, killing at least 12

A massive Russian drone-and-missile attack targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions in the country for a second consecutive night, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens, officials said early Sunday. The scale of the onslaught was stunning — Russia hit Ukraine with 367 drones and missiles, making this the largest single aerial attack […]

Read More
South Korea frontrunner Lee suggests extending US tariff talks
World

South Korea frontrunner Lee suggests extending US tariff talks

Lee Jae-myung, mayor of Seongnam city, on Nov. 23, 2016. Lee is rising in opinion polls with about a year to go until South Korea’s next presidential election. He wants to break up the country’s biggest companies, meet unconditionally with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and throw President Park Geun-hye in jail over an […]

Read More
Starmer has delivered some key wins for the UK recently, so why is he so unpopular?
World

Starmer has delivered some key wins for the UK recently, so why is he so unpopular?

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer serve tea and cake in Downing Street on May 5, 2025 in London, England. Peter Nicholls | Getty Images News | Getty Images A year into the job, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has scored some key wins, including recently signing major trade deals with […]

Read More