CaixaBank-Bankia merger to create Spain's biggest lender

摘要

CAIXABANK AND BANKIA have announced the largest merger in Spanish banking history, an all-share operation that makes the new group the biggest lender in the domestic market, with more than €676bn ($792bn) in assets. The last round of mega consolidations took place in 1999, when Banco Bilbao Viz-caya acquired Argentaria to become BBVA and Santander teamed up with Hispano Central Americano. In both cases, the assets of the new banks were less than half those of the entity that is to trade under the CaixaBank corporate name. The deal is being billed as a merger, but is, in effect, widely seen as a takeover by CaixaBank, which is almost three times as big as Bankia in market value, with more than twice the assets. The agreement consists of an exchange ratio of 0.6845 new CaixaBank ordinary shares for every Bankia share and includes a 20% premium over the exchange ratio at the close of trading on September 3,2020.