Investing.com -- Banco Bilbao (NYSE:BBVA) Vizcaya Argentaria is refining its hostile takeover bid for its smaller Spanish peer, Banco de Sabadell, to ensure the economic terms of the offer remain consistent following the distribution of both banks’ 2024 final dividends.
On Friday, BBVA (BME:BBVA) announced an updated exchange ratio, proposing one BBVA share and 0.70 euros in cash for every 5.3456 ordinary shares of Sabadell.
This revised offer explicitly takes into account Sabadell’s final dividend of 0.1244 euros per share, which was paid to its shareholders on Friday, as well as BBVA’s own final dividend of 0.41 euros per share, which is scheduled for payment on April 10th.
BBVA emphasized that these adjustments are intended to maintain the equivalent economic value of the offer as initially proposed.
This is not the first time BBVA has tweaked its bid; in October, the offer was similarly adjusted to incorporate the interim dividends paid by both institutions, resulting in a previous offer of one BBVA share and 0.29 euros for every 5.0196 Sabadell shares.
BBVA launched its unsolicited bid to acquire Sabadell in May after encountering significant resistance from Sabadell’s management, who have consistently opposed the merger.
The proposed transaction aims to create one of the largest banking entities in the Eurozone. However, the deal is currently pending crucial approvals from Spanish regulatory authorities and Sabadell’s shareholders.
Furthermore, the Spanish government has voiced concerns regarding the potential impact of such a consolidation in the national banking sector.
The initial value of the takeover deal, estimated to be over $12 billion, has experienced fluctuations since its announcement.