FRANKFURT - German banking giant Deutsche Bank is considering the possibility of expanding its hold in Europe, and is considering wheter it can take over Dutch bank ABN Amro or the German lender Commerzbank. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the internal talks have been ongoing for months about several European takeover targets, which has since been shortlisted to the two favorites.
The situation is not yet at an advanced stage, the sources said. Talks have not started with ABN Amro or Commerzbank, and an investment bank has not been hired to help analyze or close a deal. Last November, Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board Chair Alexander Wynaendts said his firm should be prepared to close deals even if it is not a main focus.
Also in November, Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag wrote a letter to Parliament saying that she approved a plan to further reduce the Dutch State's holdings to 40 percent. The Netherlands currently holds a 49.5 percent ownership stake in ABN Amro after an eight-year period where the State's stake was gradually reduced.
Such signals indicating a sell-off could trigger an attempt at a broader deal, Bloomberg wrote. Two years ago, BNP Paribas was also rumored to be interested in an ABN Amro acquisition.
"More detailed information about the dribble-out program cannot be made public as it could have a negative effect on this transaction or future transactions and thus harm the interests of the State. After completion of the sales program, I will inform you of the total proceeds and the final number of certificates sold," Kaag wrote to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament.
Kaag has since stepped down from the Cabinet to become the United Nations official managing the reconstruction of Gaza. Fellow D66 party member Steven van Weyenberg has taken over her role on the Cabinet, which is currently in a caretaker status led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The Dutch State took over ABN Amro with a 21.7 billion euro bailout to rescue it from impending bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis. It spent another 16.8 billion to takeover the Dutch banking businesses from beleaguered Fortis. The two banks were merged together, and provided with billions more in capital injections, loans, and loan cancellations.
The Dutch State's holdings are managed by NLFI, which oversees the country's stakes in financial institutions. Final approval over any acquisition or sell-off must be given by the current finance minister. The Netherlands began by selling off about 23 percent of the bank in a 2015 initial public offering that raised 3.3 billion euros when 23 percent of the bank's shares were listed on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. A year later, it sold another 7 percent in the bank for 1.3 billion euros.
Currently, Germany also holds 15 percent of the shares in Commerzbank. In 2009, that ownership stake was closer to 25 percent when Commerzbank acquired Dresdner Bank from Allianz.
Neither ABN Amro, Commerzbank nor Deutsche Bank commented in response to the Bloomberg article.
