By Jesús Aguado
MADRID (Reuters) -BBVA’s Chair Carlos Torres on Friday told its shareholders that he was fully confident of the success of its 12-billion-euro takeover for smaller rival Sabadell.
The bid, which is opposed by the Spanish government, was rejected by Sabadell’s board, prompting BBVA to launch in May a hostile offer directly to Sabadell’s shareholders in its latest attempt at a deal, after a failed effort in 2020.
“We have full confidence that the operation will be successful,” Torres told shareholders in Bilbao, where Spain’s second-biggest lender by market was holding an extraordinary meeting to approve a share issue of up to 1.126 billion shares to fund the deal.
More than 70% of BBVA’s capital was present or represented at the shareholders’ meeting, the secretary of the board, Domingo Armengol, said.
“The proposed transaction increases our scale and also strengthens our position in Spain, an attractive market for investment,” Torres said.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by David Latona)
