Italy's UniCredit makes new play for Commerzbank

• It also may persuade Commerzbank and the German government to engage in talks after 18 months of resisting UniCredit's overtures.

By the numbers: UniCredit is offering to buy shares at €30.80 a piece, representing a 4% premium over Friday's closing price and implying a €35 billion enterprise value.

• It doesn't need many, as it currently holds a 26% direct stake and nearly another 4% via total return swaps.
• The German government holds a 12.5% position.

Go deeper, via Reuters: "The European Central Bank is pushing for more banking consolidation, especially cross-border, to counter the growing presence of U.S. banks in Europe. But that effort has met with widespread opposition from national governments, which want to retain influence over their banking sectors."