Deutsche Post CEO says Postbank IPO draws ‘good’ response from investors
Postbank AG’s IPO has attracted a ‘good’ response from investors, with foreign funds showing a ‘considerable’ degree of interest during the pre-marketing period, Deutsche Post World Net AG management board chairman Klaus Zumwinkel told reporters.
In a news conference marking the start of the subscription period for the IPO of Deutsche Post’s banking unit Postbank, Zumwinkel said there was also ‘huge interest’ from private investors and Postbank employees for the planned share sale on June 21.
Zumwinkel confirmed the ‘positive’ business development of Postbank in the first quarter and said that he expects net profit for the full year 2004 would be above the previous year.
He said first quarter pretax was at 143 mln eur compared with 101 mln the year-earlier, with the cost-income ratio improving at 70.6 pct from 76.9 pct and pretax return on equity at 11.7 pct from 9.2 pct.
Postbank management board chairman Wulf von Schimmelman said at the same news conference he was ‘positively surprised’ by the expressions of interest from future investors, who he said had described his bank as one with a ‘significant potential’ to grow.
Based on these, he added, he was confident he would be able to convince investors in the forthcoming IPO roadshow.
Postbank yesterday disclosed a bookbuilding price of 31.50-36.50 eur/shr, higher than expected by investors, some of whom have now complained it would be difficult to sell the shares at such a high level.
Postbank’s pre-IPO price was trading shortly before noon today at around 32.00-32.50 eur/shr on the gray market, dealers said. Early today, it fetched 32.15-32.65 eur, they added.
Postbank’s IPO is the largest in terms of the expected capital to be raised since Deutsche Boerse AG generated about 1 bln eur in February 2001, and is the third this year in Germany after a dry spell on the IPO market for the past 2-1/5 years.
Deutsche Post said it is selling a total of 81,999,999 shares or 50 pct minus one share of the total capital of Postbank. The share already includes the greenshoe option, whose level has so far not been disclosed.
