UniCredit SpA Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel wants to decide at the end of this year whether he makes a takeover offer for Commerzbank AG, linking the decision to the next German government’s willingness to let the deal happen.

Commerzbank plans to axe 3,900 mostly local jobs to help it deliver more ambitious profit targets as part of its strategy to fend off UniCredit's advances for a tie-up between the German and Italian lenders,