U.S. investor Cerberus takes 3 percent stake in Deutsche
Bank
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[November 15, 2017]
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Cerberus
[CBS.UL] has taken a 3 percent stake in Deutsche Bank, Germany's
flagship lender said on Wednesday, making the U.S. buyout fund the
fourth-largest shareholder after China's HNA group, Qatar and money
manager Blackrock.
The move comes after the investor built a 5 percent stake in Germany's
second-largest listed bank, Commerzbank, in July.
"We have a constructive view of European fundamentals and believe
Germany is a highly attractive place to invest, in particular," a
Cerberus spokesman said, adding it saw long-term opportunities in retail
and corporate banking due to Germany’s robust economy and high savings
rate.
He declined to comment on the investment in Deutsche Bank.
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Shares in Deutsche Bank recouped losses made earlier in the day to trade
nearly 1 percent higher at 1251 GMT.
"This has fueled the fantasy of a merger between Deutsche Bank and
Commerzbank, which came up months ago," said a trader. "I can understand
this speculation because Cerberus wouldn't buy into German banks without
reason."
In 2016, top executives of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank held talks on a
potential combination, but shelved the project to complete their
restructurings before taking steps towards any merger, a person close to
the matter said at the time.
Commerzbank would not comment on Cerberus.
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The headquarters of Germany's Deutsche Bank are seen early evening
in Frankfurt, Germany January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Nov/15/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Speculation that a new shareholder would emerge heightened after
Deutsche Bank disclosed on Tuesday that Morgan Stanley <MS.N> had
acquired a significant holding in voting rights linked to financial
instruments.
It remains unclear whether the Cerberus and Morgan Stanley disclosures
are linked.
Morgan Stanley holds 6.86 percent of voting rights in the German lender,
with the vast majority of those rights through instruments, Deutsche
Bank said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Instruments include call
options, rights of recall over securities lending agreements, equity
swaps and put options.
Morgan Stanley previously held 0.47 percent of voting rights in shares.
German law require disclosure when stakes exceed the 3 percent and 5
percent level.
The Morgan Stanley threshold was crossed on Nov. 6, while the Cerberus
threshold was reached on Nov. 14.
Morgan Stanley in Frankfurt declined to comment.
(Reporting Arno Schuetze, Hans Seidenstuecker and Tom Sims; Editing by
Edmund Blair)
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