MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's Sabadell rejected BBVA's takeover offer because the bidder underestimated the deal's negative effect on capital reserves and overestimated cost savings, Sabadell's CEO said in his first public comments on the proposal. The capital ratio impact would be "significantly higher than the 30 basis points" foreseen by BBVA, Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno told a banking event a week after BBVA launched a hostile 12.23 billion euro ($13.1 billion) all-share takeover offer.
MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) -Sabadell CEO Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno was in London on Thursday meeting with analysts to champion his bank's success when news landed that rival BBVA was going hostile with its 12.23 billion-euro ($13.2 billion) takeover offer. The surprise move - the first hostile banking takeover bid in Spain since the 1980s - pits the same long-standing executives against each other who tried and failed to negotiate a deal between Spain's second- and fourth-largest banks in 2020. After making a new approach late last month, BBVA Chair Carlos Torres, who led the 2020 takeover attempt, gave his Sabadell counterpart, Josep Oliu, a clear message in a May 5 letter: there would be no improving its all-share offer.
MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) -Spain's government opposes BBVA's hostile takeover bid for its smaller rival Sabadell, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Thursday. Under Spanish law, the Economy Ministry has the power to block any merger or acquisition of a bank. The government has six months to decide after consulting with regulators including the Bank of Spain and the securities regulator CNMV.