01:08 PM EDT, 05/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( BBVA ) is appealing directly to Banco de Sabadell shareholders with its 12-billion-euro ($12.9 billion) takeover bid after the Sabadell board of directors recently rejected the offer, saying the deal "significantly undervalues" the Spanish lender.

In a statement announcing Banco Bilbao's direct bid, Banco Bilbao Chairman Carlos Torres Vila described the all-stock buyout proposal as "an extraordinarily attractive offer" to create a single bank with increased scale throughout Spain's banking market. "Together we will have a greater positive impact in the geographies where we operate," he said.

The proposal is unchanged from the offer Banco Bilbao made in an April 30 letter to the Sabadell board. Banco Bilbao said it offered to swap one Banco Bilbao share for every 4.83 Sabadell shares, representing a 30% premium to Sabadell's share price on the day before Banco Bilbao made its offer, with the target company's shareholders owning a 16% stake of the combined banks once the deal is completed.

Banco de Sabadell did not make a public statement in response to the new Banco Bilbao takeover effort and the lender also did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request seeking comment.

Banco Bilbao shares were down almost 7% in recent trading Thursday.

Price: 10.29, Change: -0.77, Percent Change: -6.92