Investment banks interested in joining UBS AG, manager for the sale, in a possible public offering should apply by April 2, Berlin’s finance ministry said in an advertisement in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung today. About 7% of the lender, the largest in Berlin, is freely traded. The city must sell its 81% stake in Landesbank Berlin Holding AG this year under an agreement with the European Commission after the lender’s bailout in 2001. Berlin, which said last month 19 parties submitted statements of interest for the bank, has reserved the right to sell the stake on the stock exchange.
Landesbank Berlin, with a 40% market share in the capital, may fetch as much as €6.5 billion ($8.4 billion), according to analysts. Private banks including Commerzbank AG and UniCredit SpA‘s HVB Group may compete against German savings banks and state-owned Landesbanken in the bidding. Fourteen bidders remain in the running for the bank, Handelsblatt reported earlier this month. (Bloomberg)
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
