Banks - Commerzbank Buys Dresdner For 9.8 Billion

By Massimo Dau
Source : ezinearticles dot com

The stock market punishes the title Commerzbank after the acquisition of Dresdner Bank for 9.8 billion euros from insurance giant Allianz, made official in the late evening yesterday. At list Frankfurt Commerz lost almost 9% to 18.37 euros, after having touched a minimum to 18.26 euros. Recover instead Allianz: After a negative start leading her to divest around 1, 5%, half sitting has found the positive sign and marks +0.25%.

According to Allianz, the transaction represents a milestone in the path of consolidation of the banking sector in Germany. Over the past 10 years, in fact, represents the largest transaction between two German institutions, after the birth - in'98 - HVB, then finished under the control Of Italian Unicredit. The focus now moves on Deutsche Postbank and Deutsche Bank.

For analysts, Allianz now has the opportunity to concentrate on attivià insurance and asset management, exploiting the extensive network of branches Commerz-Dresdner.

Details

With the sale of Dresdner at Commerzbank, Allianz will become the main shareholder in the new banking group with almost 30% of the capital. The insurance group will acquire the asset management unit of Commerz, Cominvest AM.

The operation will be developed in two phases and will be completed no later than the end of 2009. The first step provides provides for the purchase of 60.2% Dresdner part of Commerzbank. In exchange Allianz will receive 163.5 million new shares Commerzbank, resulting from capital, equivalent to 18.4% of the capital. In addition, Commerz to Allianz will pay 2.5 billion euros in cash.

In the second phase, the two banks will proceed to the merger and Commerz acquire the remaining 39.8% of the shares by Allianz Dresdner.

Dresdner has always weighed on the budgets of Allianz, since the acquisition in 2001 for about 24 billion euros, despite various attempts at restructuring. It represents 95% of the banking activities of insurance giant.

For General 'operation of strategic value'

An operation by "strong strategic significance" that creates value has defined Sergio Balbinot, CEO of Assicurazioni Generali, which are the first shareholder in Commerzbank. "This is a transaction - said Balbinot in a note circulated qualcheora after the announcement - has a strong strategic significance for Commerzbank. As a major shareholder in Commerzbank priority of our Group has always been to agree to any settlement that was accrescitiva value for all our shareholders. We believe that this agreement meets this criterion. With regard to bancassurance agreement with Commerzbank, which today generates 4-5% of our new production in Germany - added the managing director of Generali -- It is contractually in force until September 2010. Having said that, we also expressed our willingness to discuss a solution on which safeguards the interests of all parties involved. "