MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s stock market supervisor CNMV will wait for the government’s decision and the competition watchdog’s review of BBVA’s hostile bid for Sabadell before deciding on the potential authorisation of the takeover prospectus, CNMV chief Carlos San Basilio said on Wednesday.
In November, the antitrust watchdog said that BBVA’s all-share offer for Sabadell, valued in April at more than 12 billion euros ($12.64 billion), must undergo a longer phase 2 review that could extend the process well into 2025 in a deal opposed by the government.
Under Spanish law, the government cannot stop a bid from being made, but it has the final word on whether a merger goes ahead.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; Editing by David Latona)
