Spanish lender BBVA has sweetened its hostile takeover bid for Sabadell - now valuing its smaller rival at €17 billion.

Bilbao

BBVA has enhanced its takeover offer for Sabadell, increasing the value by 10% and shifting to an all-share proposal. This adjustment is designed to make the transaction tax-neutral for Sabadell shareholders if more than half accept, as it would then qualify under Spanish tax rules. The new offer stands at one BBVA share for every 4.83 Sabadell shares, and BBVA has stated it will not further improve the offer or extend the acceptance period.

Despite these changes, Sabadell's board continues to recommend rejection, arguing that the proposed synergies are overestimated and that regulatory requirements would force both banks to operate separately for at least three to five years. The board also highlighted significant execution risks and doubts about the merger's feasibility, given social and regulatory challenges in Spain. Shares in both banks fell following the announcement of the improved offer.

BBVA sweetens offer for Sabadell

As BBVA is sweetening their offer for Sabadell, so by 10% announcing this morning that it will now be entirely in shares and so that will allow that shareholders with capital gains will not be subject to taxation in Spain if acceptance exceeds 50% of Sabadell's voting right because the transaction would qualify as tax-neutral in that case. They're also BBVA waiving both the possibility of making further improvements to the consideration and of extending the acceptance period. So now the new offer is one BBVA share for every 4.83 Sabadell share. Of course, we see this improved offer from BBVA because a battle that started back in May last year. We know it had to face several hurdles, including the Spanish government putting some quite stringent conditions on the potential tie-up there. But certainly tomorrow was a deadline for any potential improved offer from BBVA that up until now has said they will not improve their offer, but they have now come forward with this new offer. So this means now that the take-up period will be suspended until the regulator approves this new offer from BBVA for Sabadell. And here again, we know Sabadell rejected, the board of Sabadell rejected that offer, recommended their shareholders to reject that offer as well. They talk in particular about the synergies mentioned by BBVA being too overestimated there. They talk about how they have to remain as two separate entities going forward, two separate entities for at least three years, if not five years. And that was in a sense the key message from the CEO of Sabadell when he spoke to CNBC a few days back. The thing is that the distance to anything that is close to the value of Sabadell is enormous. And it's very difficult that that happens because of the execution risks that I mentioned before. For three to five years, there's going to be zero synergies, zero, because what the regulation has established is that the two banks have to be managed autonomously. Thereafter, there's no guarantee that there will be a merger because the social reaction to this transaction has been so huge in Spain that at that point in time, seeing disappearing the branch of the brand of Sabadell will create a real problem and it requires a positive authorization. So the merger might never happen. And under these circumstances, with potential negative synergies from the concentration, the value is not there and therefore the price cannot be there. And that's why this transaction has for a long time already completely derailed. You have to understand that it has lost momentum after 16 months. It doesn't have the price and the execution risks are so high that I certainly don't see and the board doesn't see how this could happen. So that was the CEO of Sabadell speaking to CNBC a few days back when the board recommended to reject the offer from BBVA. But now this new offer on the table from the chair of BBVA that we know has been trying to take over the small arrival for a very long time. They did a first approach back in 2020. Now they went hostile in May last year and now with this new offer on the table there. So we have to wait and see how this turns out. But certainly we see for the moment the shares on both the BBVA and Sabadell negative this morning of the back of this improved offer.

U.S. President Donald Trump was the final speaker at a politically charged memorial service for conservative activist and MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk that also included words of forgiveness from Kirk’s widow as well as remarks from the vice-president and one of Trump’s sons.

Glendale

Trump closes out Charlie Kirk memorial

Media mogul Lachlan Murdoch and business leaders Larry Ellison and Michael Dell would be involved as U.S. investors in a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States, according to President Donald Trump speaking to Fox News channel.

Washington

Trump says Murdochs would be involved in TikTok deal

Portugal, the UK, Australia and Canada joined over 150 countries that now recognise a Palestinian state. The announcements come ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in the week ahead.

Lisbon

Portugal formally recognises Palestinian state

Police say a 23-year-old was arrested and charged Sunday night with second-degree murder after one person was killed and several others were injured in a shooting at a New Hampshire country club. Witnesses say the shooter said “free Palestine” and before opening fire.

Nashua

Suspect yelled 'free Palestine' before country club shooting

President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department go after his political rivals following a shakeup in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Eastern Virginia. Willie James Inman reports.

Trump pressuring Justice Department to pursue his political foes

President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several others remembered Charlie Kirk at a memorial service in Arizona that was attended by thousands.

Phoenix

Trump, others remember Charlie Kirk at memorial service

The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia officially recognized Palestine as a state Sunday, a move that has long been opposed by the U.S. and Israel. More countries are expected to do the same this week as world leaders gather in New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Middle East Conflict

Israel continuing assault on Gaza after countries recognize Palestinian statehood

A group of US Republicans has sent a letter to France, Canada, the UK and Australia, urging them to re-consider their decision to recognise a Palestinian state.  It's warning there may be consequences if the countries move ahead with plan at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

US Republicans warn allies over decision to recognise Palestinian state

Britain, Canada and Australia all recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday (September 21) in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, but which is also bound to anger Israel and its main ally, the U.S.

Britain, Canada and Australia all recognize Palestinian state

The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, will address the UN on Monday, after the General Assembly voted to allow him to join remotely. The U.S. has refused to issue him a visa to attend in person.

New York

UN approves video address by Palestine’s Abbas after U.S. visa refusal

Sixty nations have agreed to a new treaty aimed at protecting marine biodiversity in international waters. But the strength of the deal governing the high seas is uncertain as some of the world’s biggest players - including China, the U.S., Russia and Japan - have yet to ratify.

Nations ratify world's first treaty to protect international waters

A cyberattack on a provider of check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several major European airports including London's Heathrow, the continent's busiest, causing flight delays and cancellations on Saturday (September 20).

London

Travelers stranded as cyberattack disrupts major European airports

The high seas will soon have their own Conference of the Parties (COP). This new body will oversee the implementation of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which is scheduled to enter into force in early 2026 after the legally required 120-day period.

Manhattan

Optus, Australia's second-largest telecom carrier, promised on Saturday "full cooperation" with official investigators, after an outage disrupted emergency call services for 13 hours. Four people died amid the technical failure, including an eight-week-old boy.

Melbourne

Telco vows to cooperate after deadly outage

Dozens more Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive. Amid mounting international criticism of Israel, there has been a renewed push for a two-state solution, with Portugal being the latest advocate.

Two-state solution gains support as IDF moves on Gaza City

Charlie Kirk will be mourned in a massive public memorial in Phoenix, Ariz., on Sunday. With U.S. President Donald Trump and other top U.S. officials attending, the event is expected to bring significant security concerns.

Thousands set to attend Charlie Kirk's public memorial

Russia has launched more than 600 attacks on multiple cities across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is renewing calls for more support, and warning allies that defending Europe means defending Ukraine.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia launches mass strikes across Ukraine

A cyberattack has disrupted air traffic at several airports in Europe. Check-in and boarding systems went down in London, Brussels and Berlin. Europe’s aviation safety organisation says airlines were asked to cancel 50% of their flights to reduce pressure on the system.

Heathrow Airport

Flight chaos as UK, European airports hit by cyberattack

Three Russian military jets violated NATO member Estonia's airspace for 12 minutes on Friday in an "unprecedentedly brazen" incursion, its government said, the latest in a series of recent military actions by Russia that have rattled the alliance.

Tallinn

Russian jets enter Estonia's airspace in latest test for NATO

President Trump said Friday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping "made progress" on a deal over TikTok ownership, and that he would visit China early next year.

Trump says he and Xi Jinping 'made progress' on TikTok deal

The apparent remains of Travis Decker, the man suspected of killing his three daughters in Washington state, have been located and are undergoing DNA testing. A manhunt has been underway for Decker since his daughter's bodies were found in June.

Remains of father suspected of killing 3 daughters found

Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets lingered in NATO-member Estonia's airspace for several minutes on Friday, according to Estonian authorities. Italian F-35s responded.

Moscow

NATO defences triggered amid Russian airspace violation

Fellow comedians Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon mocked U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday after Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled off the air on Wednesday by ABC following Federal Communications Commission pressure.

Late-night hosts mock Trump as outrage over Kimmel grows

International sanctions imposed on Iran before the 2015 nuclear deal, could be reinstated within days. The United Nations Security Council has voted against lifting sanctions permanently, because of the country's nuclear programme.

Tehran

Sanctions to hit Iran again after UN vote

Washington has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking - a claim he denies. In recent weeks, the US military has been building up its presence in the Caribbean. Venezuela has responded by holding military drills.

Caracas

Venezuela orders three-day drills amid U.S tensions

A Republican measure to keep the government funded until Nov. 21 stumbled in the Senate after clearing the House, leaving lawmakers without a clear path forward to avoid a funding lapse at the end of the month.

Government shutdown looms after GOP funding bill fails in Senate

In suburban Chicago, tensions boiled over as authorities unleashed tear gas and pepper balls to break up a crowd that was trying to block vehicles outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.

Chicago

Tensions boil over as protesters clash with authorities outside Chicago ICE facility

Gunfire struck the building that houses the ABC 10 TV station in Sacramento on Friday afternoon. No one was injured.

Sacramento

Gunfire strikes Sacramento ABC TV station building

President Trump signed two executive orders at the White House on Friday night. The first established the Trump Gold Card as a path to U.S. citizenship for $1 million. The second adds a $100,000 fee for skilled worker visas called H-1B worker visas.

Trump signs $1M gold card visas, adds fee for skilled workers

With Jimmy Kimmel off the air for a third straight day, the fallout is growing. Film and TV writers protested outside ABC headquarters in New York, even as President Trump warned he may go after other networks next. Nancy Cordes reports.

Breakdown