Commerzbank AG, the second-biggest bank in Germany, and Allianz SE were holding supervisory board meetings yesterday to decide on the sale of Dresdner Bank.
Commerzbank may acquire Dresdner for about 9 billion euros (US$13.3 billion), two people with knowledge of the matter said, helping the bank leapfrog Deutsche Bank AG as Germany’s largest lender by customers and branches.
Commerzbank and Allianz, Europe’s biggest insurer, agreed in principle on a deal last week, the people said on Friday.
A deal would double Commerzbank’s retail clients to 12 million and branches to 1,900 in Germany, and save costs by shedding jobs and closing locations. For Munich-based Allianz, Europe’s largest insurer, the sale would unwind the 23.5 billion euro acquisition of Dresdner, which has dragged on its profit and stock since 2001.
“A combined Commerzbank and Dresdner could significantly boost efficiency,” said Konrad Becker, a Munich-based analyst at Merck Finck & Co.
The banks could save as much as 800 million euros in personnel costs by slashing about 8,500 jobs in areas such as administration and information technology, he said.
Munich-based Allianz on Friday confirmed that it was in “advanced talks” about its Dresdner Bank unit that “may or may not lead to a deal.”
The sale still could unravel over unresolved questions such as how much of any future losses at Dresdner’s securities unit Allianz is willing to shoulder, said the two people, who declined to be identified because they weren’t permitted to comment on negotiations.
Spokespeople at Allianz and Commerzbank, who confirmed that members of the supervisory boards were meeting yesterday, declined to comment further on a possible agreement. A spokesman at Dresdner Bank also declined to comment.
Commerzbank plans initially to buy 51 percent of Dresdner and acquire the remainder next year, according to two people close to the matter.
The bank might also swap its Cominvest asset management unit as partial payment for Dresdner and Allianz may keep a stake of less than 30 percent in the combined bank, one of the people said.
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