aims to sell around a quarter of its asset management arm, DWS, for €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) - €2 billion to help recoup three consecutive years of losses. This values the business at around €8 billion at the top end of that range.
"Over the past six months there has been a huge desire within the bank to get the IPO done,” a person close to the process reportedly said. “The timing looks good, given strong market valuations.”
By the end of this week, Deutsche Bank’s executive board is due to approve the intention to float before it is published as early as Monday, people close to the IPO said.
Roughly two weeks later, the IPO prospectus and the price range are scheduled to follow, with the first day of trading in the week starting March 19.
Nike Bone, a spokesperson for DWS, declined to comment.
DWS oversees some €720 billion of assets, making it Europe’s third-largest asset manager behind France’s Amundi with €1.4 trillion and the UK’s Standard Life Aberdeen (£646 billion).
Source: Google
The successful partial spin-off of what is one of Deutsche Bank’s most consistently profitable operations could spur confidence in chief executive John Cryan’s turnaround strategy. Over the past two months, the bank’s shares have slid 18 per cent as investors turned a cold shoulder to the Frankfurt-headquartered lender following its lacklustre fourth-quarter performance.