Postbank sale may fail over target price

Tag : Binding Post

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The sale of Germany's biggest retail bankDeutsche Postbank could fail because the price potential biddersare willing to pay does not meet the expectations of the lender'sparent, Deutsche Post, a German magazine reported on Saturday.
Business weekly Wirschaftswoche cited sources close to Germany'sFinance Ministry as saying that Deutsche Post, which owns a stakeof 50 percent plus one share in Postbank, expected offers valuingthe lender at more than 10 billion euros ($15.70 billion), but hasreceived non-binding offers only of between 8 and 9 billion euros.
"For Post, that is too little," the magazine quoted an insider assaying.
Post's supervisory board is fixed on attaining a valuation in thedouble-digit billions of euros, the magazine said.
A Finance Ministry spokesman declined to comment and Deutsche Postwas not immediately available.
The German government indirectly holds a 30 percent stake inDeutsche Post, giving it a say in the Postbank sale.
Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said in a newspaper interviewearlier this week that he wants to find a merger partner forPostbank this year and prefers a German solution, though not at anyprice.
Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and Allianz have flagged interest inPostbank, whose nearly 15 million-strong customer base makes it amajor prize amid moves toward a broad consolidation among Germany'scommercial banks.
Deutsche Post is also talking to foreign banks, including Spain'sSantander, the UK's Lloyds TSB and Dutch bank ING, sources familiarwith the matter told Reuters last week.
(Reporting by Jonathan Gould, Editing by Peter Blackburn)