Germany's Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday it has entered exclusive negotiations with US financial services firm Guggenheim Partners on the sale of its asset management division.
Germany's Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday it has entered exclusive negotiations with US financial services firm Guggenheim Partners on the sale of its asset management division.
Deutsche Bank's asset management division is split into four business lines: DWS, Deutsche Insurance Asset Management, institutional advisory business DB Advisor and RREEF Alternatives. RREEF covers alternative investments in global real estate, infrastructure, commodities, private equity and sustainability issues like climate change.
New York- and Chicago-based Guggenheim emerged ahead of several bidders including Australia’s Macquarie Group and US-based Ameriprise Financial Inc, JP Morgan and State Street.
Sources close to the sale told PropertyEU that Deutsche Bank aims to push through the disposal by the end of June.
While Deutsche Bank has not disclosed its target sale price for RREEF, analyst expectations vary widely. Many expect RREEF to sell for between EUR 1 bn and EUR 1.5 bn, although some estimates have been as low as EUR 500 mln.
Deutsche Bank announced back in November that it was conducting a strategic review of its global asset management business - which includes RREEF Real Estate - sparking speculation in the industry that RREEF Real Estate could be put up for sale. RREEF Real Estate had EUR 43.6 bn of assets under management as of 30 September 2011.