Banco Sabadell rose 1.8% and BBVA 0.25% at the opening after confirming the continuation of the takeover bid.

Banco Sabadell shares rose 1.8% at the opening of trading on Tuesday, while BBVA shares rose 0.25% , after the bank, chaired by Carlos Torres, announced that it would not withdraw from its takeover bid for the Catalan bank.

Specifically, the entity led by Josep Oliu led the Ibex 35 with a rise of 1.77% at 9:21 a.m., trading at a unit price of 3.395 euros, while BBVA rose 0.25%, with its shares at 16.1 euros. However, at 11:30 a.m., the Basque bank registered a fall of 0.25% , while Banco Sabadell remained on the rise with a rise of 2.01% .

According to BBVA's announcement to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) on Monday after the Spanish stock market closed, it will continue its takeover bid for Banco Sabadell , despite the government's requirement that both banks remain independent for a period of three to five years.

After Banco Sabadell decided to sell TSB to Banco Santander and pay a "macro-dividend" of €2.5 billion, something endorsed by the general shareholders' meeting, BBVA had the option to withdraw the offer, something it ultimately did not do.

"After analyzing the agreements adopted and considering the available information, BBVA has decided not to withdraw the offer for this reason and, therefore, it remains in effect in accordance with the applicable regulations," it stated in the statement sent to the CNMV.

"BBVA has decided to move forward and will update and publish all relevant information once it receives approval of the prospectus from the CNMV, expected in early September," BBVA sources told Europa Press.

With this, the next step in this takeover bid, which has been on the table for 15 months, is the publication of the transaction prospectus , which will occur in early September. The acceptance period will open five days after the prospectus is made public.

This period can last between 15 and 70 days , depending on applicable Spanish regulations. However, since US legislation also applies, the minimum period would be 30 days. Whatever period BBVA decides to apply, it could subsequently be extended up to a maximum of 70 days.

Initially, a tentative date for approving the prospectus was considered for the end of July, but it was eventually set for early September so that the half-yearly results of both entities and the results of Banco Sabadell's general meetings could be incorporated into the document.

At the press conference held by BBVA after publishing its half-year financial statements, the bank's CEO, Onur Genç, emphasized that the bank's focus was on value creation : "Our focus is on value creation. We invest capital only if it makes sense from this perspective of value creation," he stated.

For his part, during his speech at the general meetings held on August 6, Banco Sabadell CEO César González-Bueno demanded that the takeover bid prospectus indicate whether Banco Sabadell shareholders will receive 25% of the bank's value in dividends and buybacks, and whether the percentage will reach 40% by 2027.

"That would be a huge step forward , because at the moment that information doesn't exist and, therefore, isn't comparable," he said.

Specifically, BBVA's new cost synergy calculations will be revealed when the offer prospectus is published. Last week, the bank explained in a supplement to its universal registration document that it is conducting a review of the potential cost synergies it could achieve during the years the government-imposed condition remains in place.

Among the risks described is the possibility that, if the merger were not completed "for any reason," it could result in the failure to realize "substantially" a portion of the expected benefits of the offering, including cost savings and other operational efficiencies.

In recent months, BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres has been arguing that the bank would be able to achieve most of the synergies even if the merger did not go through.

For its part, Banco Sabadell has argued that requiring two independent entities during that three- to five-year period would reduce synergies to zero .