Deutsche Postbank shares soar
Shares of Germany’s largest retail bank Deutsche Postbank AG rose by as much as 11pct in early trade Wednesday, following a report by Financial Times Deutschland daily on a possible merger of the bank.
Deutsche Postbank shares traded off earlier highs, up 9.1pct at EUR 56.18, outperforming Germany’s blue-chip DAX index, which was trading just 0.6pct higher.
According to the newspaper, Deutsche Post Chief Executive Klaus Zumwinkel is looking to expand Deutsche Postbank operations through a merger, citing people close to the company.
U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) is conducting exploratory queries, the newspaper reported. Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Allianz SE (AZ) and ING Groep NV (ING) were among the first potential partners contacted, the newspaper said.
Deutsche Post, Deutsche Bank, Allianz and ING declined to comment on the report.
Morgan Stanley wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Zumwinkel has said on several occasions that Deutsche Postbank “currently” isn’t up for sale, but with the deregulation of Germany’s postal market, “one could think more intensely” about the future for Deutsche Post’s stake in Deutsche Postbank.
And the complications of having Deutsche Post as a minority investor may be uncomfortable for any potential banking merger partner, the analyst said.
Shares of Germany’s largest retail bank Deutsche Postbank AG rose by as much as 11pct in early trade Wednesday, following a report by Financial Times Deutschland daily on a possible merger of the bank.
Deutsche Postbank shares traded off earlier highs, up 9.1pct at EUR 56.18, outperforming Germany’s blue-chip DAX index, which was trading just 0.6pct higher.
According to the newspaper, Deutsche Post Chief Executive Klaus Zumwinkel is looking to expand Deutsche Postbank operations through a merger, citing people close to the company.
U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) is conducting exploratory queries, the newspaper reported. Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Allianz SE (AZ) and ING Groep NV (ING) were among the first potential partners contacted, the newspaper said.
Deutsche Post, Deutsche Bank, Allianz and ING declined to comment on the report.
Morgan Stanley wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Zumwinkel has said on several occasions that Deutsche Postbank “currently” isn’t up for sale, but with the deregulation of Germany’s postal market, “one could think more intensely” about the future for Deutsche Post’s stake in Deutsche Postbank.
Merck Finck analyst Konrad Becker, who rates Postbank shares at buy, said he sees little realistic chance for a merger of equals. Instead, any interested bank would have to buy a majority in Postbank to expand retail banking and improve distribution capacity, Becker said. In addition, Postbank doesn’t fit into Deutsche Bank’s or Dresdner Bank’s private and retail banking operations, Becker said. He added that ING’s success in Germany is in part due to its lack of a branch network and that he sees little point in changing track.
Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg analysts, who rate the shares at buy, called the plan intriguing, but hard to implement. Participating banks would have to give up their brand names and the question of who was to take the leading role would likely also be a source of conflict, the analysts write.
And the complications of having Deutsche Post as a minority investor may be uncomfortable for any potential banking merger partner, the analyst said.
