London, UK – October 18, 2025 — Spain’s third-largest bank, BBVA, announced today that it is formally shelving its hostile takeover bid for rival Banco Sabadell, valued at approximately €17 billion. The move follows a tender offer that secured only 25.47% of shareholder voting rights — far short of the minimum thresholds required to proceed.
Key Facts
- The offer, publicly launched in May 2024, aimed to merge BBVA and Sabadell to create one of Europe’s largest domestic banks.
- Sabadell shareholders representing just 25.47% of voting rights accepted the offer — well below the 30% (or higher) level needed to keep the bid open, and far below the 50% threshold required for automatic success.
- In the wake of the bid’s failure, BBVA reaffirmed its continued commitment to its standalone strategic plan for 2025-2028, which includes a share buy-back program, an interim dividend, and shareholder returns totalling up to €36 billion.
Strategic Implications
- For BBVA: The bid’s collapse allows the bank to pivot away from merger risk and focus on organic growth, margin management, and capital‐return initiatives.
- For Sabadell: The rejection of the takeover preserves the bank’s independence, which it cited as essential to its regional identity and business model, especially in Catalonia.
- For the Spanish banking sector: The episode underscores the obstacles to large-scale consolidation in a fragmented national market—where regulatory, political, and stakeholder resistance remain major barriers.
Statement from Ixoraly
“As Europe’s banking sector wrestles with scale, regulation and shareholder value, the BBVA-Sabadell case is a signalling event,” said a spokesperson for Ixoraly. “It reveals that even a well-financed bidder cannot assume success when local identity, regulatory conditions and shareholder sentiment diverge. Investors and financial analysts alike should take note.”
About Ixoraly
Ixoraly is a global business intelligence platform delivering deep-dive insights and strategic commentary across sectors. We empower professionals with clear, timely analyses of corporate developments, capital-markets shifts and policy inflection points.
