Spain’s BBVA got the last outstanding regulatory approval for its $17.4 billion bid to take over smaller peer Banco de Sabadell and said it would open the offer to shareholders starting next week.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria—as the bank is formally known—went hostile in its pursuit of Sabadell in May last year with the aim of creating one of the biggest lenders in the eurozone after it encountered fierce opposition from the management of its smaller rival.