BPCE bought around 7% of Banco Sabadell through market purchases and financial instruments, acquiring approximately 333.8 million shares. The French group said it does not plan to exceed 9.9% of Sabadell's capital and wants a seat on the Spanish bank's board, subject to regulatory and corporate approvals.
At recent market prices, the stake is worth roughly €1.19 billion. The two banks have not disclosed the actual purchase price.
Sabadell now has a stronger group of shareholders with a direct interest in its independence, something absent during the more than 18-month battle with BBVA. Almost a year after rejecting BBVA's hostile bid, the Catalan lender is reshaping its ownership around long-term partners.
A joint BPCE and Sabadell statement said chairman Josep Oliu welcomed the French group as a new shareholder. He presented the investment as recognition of Sabadell's independent strategy and its employees' performance, with the bank's growth prospects adding to the case.
BPCE is bringing more than money to the relationship. The two banks plan to examine strategic cooperation, which could put BPCE's expertise and products within reach of Sabadell customers.
Sabadell also plans to explore agreements with the French group in banking areas similar to its existing insurance partnership with Zurich. Any BPCE board seat still requires regulatory and corporate approval.
The partnership matters to Sabadell's defence. Zurich already owns 5% of the bank and backed its independence during the takeover attempt. The Swiss insurer rejected BBVA's offer after BBVA said it would end the Zurich agreement and replace it with an arrangement involving Allianz if the bid succeeded.
Sabadell's board unanimously recommended that shareholders reject BBVA's offer. BBVA ended its acquisition attempt on 12 September 2025.
Together, Zurich and BPCE will hold close to 15% of Sabadell. That does not legally block a takeover: BPCE's stake is not a statutory blocking mechanism.
A future buyer would still have to deal with a major long-term shareholder that could gain a board seat. That could make it harder to win support from other investors without addressing the interests of Sabadell's strategic partners. Bloomberg described the deal as a way for BPCE to deepen its ties with the Spanish lender, while the joint statement highlighted possible commercial cooperation.
BPCE is also widening its reach across the Iberian Peninsula. The group brings together France's savings banks and has focused on European growth in recent years.
In 2025, BPCE agreed to acquire Portugal's Novo Banco after beating CaixaBank in the bidding process. The Sabadell investment gives BPCE two major Iberian transactions in less than two years, extending its regional push well beyond France.
Brussels and the European Central Bank have urged more cross-border banking combinations within the European Union. The transaction reported to the CNMV on Tuesday is not a cross-border merger.
It shows how a minority stake can link banks in different countries. That link could support closer cooperation if future European rules give such deals more room. France's Crédit Agricole followed a similar path when it acquired a stake in Spain's Cajamar and said it did not intend to increase it.
The ownership question also feeds into a wider Spanish debate about institutional bargaining and corporate vulnerability, as described in the earlier political analysis. Sabadell's case is more direct: a sizeable stake is now held by a potential business partner.
Capital structure is Sabadell's first line of defence. BPCE gains a foothold in Spain and a possible route to wider commercial cooperation, while Zurich retains its existing role.
The combined position of both partners could make a future approach harder to execute without their support. This remains a minority investment, though it could give European banks influence ahead of a deeper alliance.
The 9.9% ceiling limits BPCE's immediate position. The French group could still add almost three percentage points if it later chooses to increase its stake.
