Picture source: Bloomberg Deutsche Bank is pushing for a partial flotation of its wealth management unit, Deutsche Asset Management, by the end of this year, insiders told Handelsblatt. “Concrete preparations are already being made for the flotation,” a financial industry source told Handelsblatt. “We are reintegrating important infrastructure in Deutsche Asset Management.” Deutsche Bank has set an official deadline of 24 months for the partial flotation, but sources say the bank, which declined to comment, wants to move faster than that. The partial flotation of Deutsche Bank’s asset manager is a key component of its new strategy to emerge from its financial woes. The bank aims to raise €10 billion ($10.7 billion) in additional capital by tapping markets for €8 billion and selling part of its asset management unit. Deutsche Asset Management is valued by experts at up to €8 billion. If Deutsche Bank sells a 20 to 30 percent stake as expected, it could bring in up to €2.4 billion. Analysts believe the timing is right for a partial sale. “Fundamentally, the environment for flotations is advantageous,” Matthias Hübner, partner at the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, told Handelsblatt. “Valuations are high and demand is strong.”
Troubled German lending giant Deutsche Bank hopes to complete the proposed partial flotation of its asset management arm before the end of the year, a source told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper. The bank has set a deadline of 24 months to get the deal through. The sale is part of plans to raise €10bn ($11bn) to pull the bank from financial mire. A spokesman for Deutsche Bank, which was founded in 1866, said it would not comment on speculation.