By Jesús Aguado
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain’s anti-trust watchdog CNMC said on Wednesday it would decide around mid-November whether it would need more time to complete its evaluation of BBVA’s 12-billion euro ($13 bullion) takeover bid for smaller rival Sabadell.
Extending the deadline would potentially extend the review well into 2025 and could imply possible stricter remedies for BBVA.
BBVA launched the bid for all of Sabadell’s shares in April and went hostile in May but the antitrust body, which formally launched its initial review on May 31, has yet to reach a decision on the deal.
A spokesperson for the antitrust body said on a meeting of the commission on Wednesday would not formally adopt a decision on whether it will carry out the review in what it calls phase 1 which usually takes a month but can be extended several times, or in phase 2 which takes longer.
He added, however, that as the deadline for phase 1 was about to expire, the decision “will necessarily be taken in the next few weeks, around mid-November”, without prejudging the outcome of the review.
He did not say exactly when phase 1 would expire.
Moving to phase 2, which usually takes three months, could be a blow for BBVA because then the government could step in.
The deal has to be authorised by the competition authority and also by Spanish stock market supervisor CNMV.
The Spanish government opposed the proposed takeover but the European Central Bank gave its green light on Sept. 5.
Under Spanish law, the government has the final word on whether a merger goes ahead.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Andrei Khalip, Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
