German Deutsche Post says won’t be placed under pressure over IPO valuation

Deutsche Post World Net AG chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel issued a statement today saying his company will not be bullied over the valuation of its retail unit Postbank AG, which plans to carry out an initial public offering.

Zumwinkel’s statement can be interpreted as a broadside against Deutsche Bank AG, which, according to an internal memorandum, values Postbank at 4.4-5.3 bln eur, well below the 6 bln eur value previously flagged by Zumwinkel earlier this year.

Deutsche Bank is lead manager of Postbank’s initial public offering next month, together with Morgan Stanley. The valuation of Deutsche Bank would mean Postbank’s price range for its IPO would be 26.83-32.32 eur per share.

‘We don’t tell the market what to do, but we don’t let others tell us what to do. We owe this to the shareholders of Deutsche Post,’ Zumwinkel said. The CEO reiterated that Postbank plans to go ahead with its share offering.

‘We have a lot of confidence in the whole market, which today has a higher DAX level in comparison to the time when we unveiled the plans to go public in autumn last year,’ Zumwinkel said.

The subscription period for Postbank’s IPO will be June 7-18. Investors can subscribe to 82 mln shares, or 50 pct of the company’s equity minus one share.

The first trading day is June 21.

Deutsche Bank was reported to have considered a 6 bln eur takeover bid for Postbank earlier this month.