Bami, the Spanish real estate company, is keeping Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch, the banks working on its merger with rival Metrovacesa, on tenterhooks while it decides whether to hire them to help fight a competing bid.

The company faces an unexpected €2.6bn ($2.8bn) rival offer for Metrovacesa from Caltagirone Group, an Italian construction firm, which could derail plans to combine the operations of Metrovacesa and Bami.