2.8% of Banc Sabadell shareholders with shares deposited at the bank accept BBVA's takeover bid

Just 2.8% of Banc Sabadell shareholders with shares deposited at the bank have accepted BBVA's takeover offer, Spain’s market regulator (CNMV) announced on Tuesday.

In total, Sabadell clients who are also shareholders represent around 31% of the bank's share capital, meaning that 97.2% of them have rejected the bid.

Overall, the shares tendered so far amount to just 1.1% of Banc Sabadell’s total share capital.

The status of the remaining shareholders is still unknown and is expected to be announced this Friday.

If more than 50% of shareholders accept, BBVA would gain control of Sabadell. If the acceptance rate falls below 30%, the offer will be automatically rejected.

However, if BBVA manages to secure between 30% and 50%, it could launch a second, hostile takeover bid. Any new bid would have to be made in cash and approved by the CNMV.

So far, most investors have kept their positions private, with only two exceptions: Mexican investor David Martínez Guzmán, who has confirmed he will accept the offer, and Zurich Insurance, which has publicly stated it will not participate.

Guzmán, who owns 3.86% of Sabadell, said he believes a merger would make the combined group "more competitive." Zurich, which holds 5%, described BBVA’s offer as "not attractive."

Including these known positions, around 35% of Banc Sabadell's shareholders have so far declined to participate in the takeover bid.

Still, BBVA retains a wide margin to surpass the 50% threshold needed to gain control of the Catalan bank, or at least reach the 30% required to attempt a second bid.

BBVA says it does not count

Meanwhile, a few hours later, BBVA said that the shares deposited at Banc Sabadell do not count towards the success rate of the takeover bid.

According to the Basque bank, the shares owned by Banc Sabadell itself represent just 0.52% of the social capital, based on figures released by the Catalan bank on October 10.