German Dresdner Bank about to be sold: report
The German Dresdner Bank is about to be sold, possibly to the second-biggest German bank.
By Agencies |
FRANKFURT: The German Dresdner Bank is about to be sold, possibly to the second-biggest German bank, Commerzbank, a newspaper said Thursday, in a report on which a Dresdner spokesman declined to comment.
The financial daily Boersen-Zeitung said a decision was expected on Friday, when Dresdner's supervisory board was to hold an extraordinary meeting, but did not identify its sources.
"No comment," a Dresdner bank spokesman told AFP. According to the press report, the most likely scenario would be a tie-up with Commerzbank, while Dresdner's parent company, the insurer Allianz, would retain a minority stake.
But the deal was not finalised, and Allianz had an alternative plan waiting just in case, the newspaper said.
Allianz has never said officially it wants to sell the banking unit, but it is planning to separate its corporate and private activities.
Dresdner has hit hard times owing to the US subprime home loans debacle and subsequent international financial crisis.
Last week, the regional French bank Credit Mutuel said it would pay 4.9 billion euros (7.8 billion dollars) for the German subsidiary of US giant Citibank, a move seen as a signal that a long-awaited German banking sector consolidation was now underway.
Dresdner Bank and Postbank, which has the biggest German retail banking network, are logically the next targets for a takeover, and Postbank's parent company Deutsche Post has said it is in talks with potential buyers.
The financial daily Boersen-Zeitung said a decision was expected on Friday, when Dresdner's supervisory board was to hold an extraordinary meeting, but did not identify its sources.
"No comment," a Dresdner bank spokesman told AFP. According to the press report, the most likely scenario would be a tie-up with Commerzbank, while Dresdner's parent company, the insurer Allianz, would retain a minority stake.
But the deal was not finalised, and Allianz had an alternative plan waiting just in case, the newspaper said.
Allianz has never said officially it wants to sell the banking unit, but it is planning to separate its corporate and private activities.
Dresdner has hit hard times owing to the US subprime home loans debacle and subsequent international financial crisis.
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Last week, the regional French bank Credit Mutuel said it would pay 4.9 billion euros (7.8 billion dollars) for the German subsidiary of US giant Citibank, a move seen as a signal that a long-awaited German banking sector consolidation was now underway.
Dresdner Bank and Postbank, which has the biggest German retail banking network, are logically the next targets for a takeover, and Postbank's parent company Deutsche Post has said it is in talks with potential buyers.
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