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ROME (Reuters) – UniCredit is “doing well” to act within the European Union’s internal market, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Class CNBC network on Monday, commenting on the Milan-based bank interest for Germany’s Commerzbank.
UniCredit has built up a 9% stake in Commerzbank and on Monday said it could potentially raise it to 21% using derivative contracts, in defiance of Germany’s opposition to a full takeover.
Tajani said “it was more than legitimate” for an Italian company to try to buy part of a German competitor, just as it was normal for foreign firms to come to Italy and buy up local players.
“This is the internal market, being pro-European only in words leaves something to be desired, UniCredit is a big Italian bank and it is doing well to act within the internal market,” the minister said.
(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gianluca Semeraro)