By Pierre Bertrand


Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria said it received word from the European Central Bank that the monetary authority wouldn't oppose its takeover of Spanish peer Banco de Sabadell.

BBVA has been working on a hostile takeover of Sabadell. The Spanish bank approached Sabadell shareholders directly in May with an offer after the smaller bank's board had previously rejected an earlier approach by BBVA that it said undervalued the group and its prospects.

BBVA in late July said it was confident that it would succeed in acquiring Sabadell, which would help it expand in its home market.

BBVA, the country's second-largest lender by market capitalization, previously attempted to purchase the smaller lender four years ago.

In July, BBVA received shareholder approval for a capital increase to fund its $12 billion-plus takeover of Sabadell.


Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-05-24 1257ET