EU antitrust regulators to decide on UniCredit's Commerzbank deal by November 16

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Italian bank UniCredit has sought EU antitrust approval for its takeover of German peer Commerzbank, with regulators setting a November 16 deadline for their decision, according to a European Commission filing on Friday.

The deal underscores Italian banks' recent appetite for consolidation, with regulators backing cross-border mergers to create European champions. The German government owns 13.3% ‌of Commerzbank. UniCredit has already secured nearly half ​of Commerzbank's share capital. 

The Commission, which is the EU competition enforcer, can either clear the deal with or without concessions during its preliminary review, or it can open a full-scale investigation if it has serious concerns.

The European Central Bank was leaning towards approving the takeover, Reuters reported in August.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Joe Bavier)