Sawt Falasteen - Germany's Commerzbank staff protest UniCredit takeover threat

About 200 staff staged the demonstration outside the annual shareholders' meeting of Commerzbank in the German city of Wiesbaden, as the lender fights back against advances from its Italian peer.

UniCredit has built up a hefty stake in Commerzbank since last year, sparking speculation it could seek to swallow up Germany's second-biggest lender, in a move that shocked Berlin's corporate and political elite.

"We want to stay independent because we think it's better for us," said Christine Pfeiffenberger, 52, a bank employee who held a banner with the slogan "my heart beats in yellow" written in Italian.

Another demonstrator, Denis Krutikov, 50, said shareholders "need to ask themselves if it is a good idea to merge with UniCredit whilst workers are against the idea".

One protester, inspired by the Asterix comic series, was dressed as a Gallic warrior and held a sign showing someone being flattened by a menhir, the giant sculpted rocks that Asterix's companion Obelix carries around.

Commerzbank has fought back fiercely against UniCredit's moves, and chief executive Bettina Orlopp told shareholders at Thursday's meeting that the group aimed to become a "key" European bank.

- Job cuts, share buybacks -

The bank last week reported its best quarterly profit since 2011 and has also announced thousands of job cuts and share buybacks in a bid to make itself more attractive to shareholders.

The saga began in September when Italy's second-biggest lender revealed its had built up a stake in its German rival, triggering talk that CEO Andrea Orcel wanted to push for an ambitious pan-European banking merger.

UniCredit has since boosted its holding via shares and derivatives to around 28 percent.

It has also received the green light from regulators to buy up to 29.99 percent of Commerzbank, just below the level at which it would be required by law to make an offer for all of the bank.

Financial news agency Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Orcel had written to new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a bid to start talks.

But Merz has previously spoken out against UniCredit's moves.

And Orcel has played down the prospect of mounting a takeover bid for Commerzbank soon, saying in March that he could wait until 2027 to determine whether it made sense.

Commerzbank's shares have risen 60 percent since the start of the year, making any takeover more expensive, and might soon exceed the price the German government paid for its stake in 2008 during the financial crisis.

H.Darwish--SF-PST