FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank AG is talking exclusively to privately held US institutional asset manager Guggenheim Partners on the sale of a big chunk of Deutsche's asset management businesses, Germany's biggest lender said on Tuesday.
Deutsche said in November it was considering selling several global asset management businesses in light of new regulation, rising costs and growing competition that was expected to weigh on future earnings.
The lender declined to give financial details on Tuesday but sources familiar with the talks told Reuters previously that a price of between 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) and 2 billion was realistic.
The businesses up for grabs have about 400 billion euros in assets under management and 1,500 employees.
They include DWS Americas, the Americas mutual fund business; DB Advisors, the global institutional asset management business; Deutsche Insurance Asset Management, the global insurance asset management business; and RREEF, the global alternative asset management business.
A purchase by Guggenheim would be a big move for the asset manager, which has 1,700 employees and more $125 billion in assets under management, according to its Internet site.
Guggenheim describes itself as a diversified financial services firm, which provides investment banking and capital market services as well as insurance, institutional finance and investment advisory services to institutions, governments, corporations, investment advisors, family offices and individuals.
The businesses that Deutsche put up for review had not been major money makers for the bank in recent years, and they lack the heft of rivals in asset management, where scale counts.
Many European banks and insurers are expected to sell or restructure their asset management operations to plump up their capital cushions ahead of new risk-capital rules being introduced in the industry in the coming years.
Sources close to the sale process told Reuters earlier this month that aside from Guggenheim, the shortlist of interested parties for the assets included Ameriprise Financial, Macquarie and State Street, but that some bidders were only interested in parts, while Deutsche wanted to sell the operations as one unit.
Not included in Deutsche's sale plan are private wealth management or Deutsche's DWS franchises in Germany, Europe and Asia, which are seen as part of the bank's retail palette.
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