Cerberus Opposes Deutsche Bank-Commerzbank Merger: Handelsblatt

(Bloomberg) -- Stephen Feinberg's Cerberus Capital Management opposes a potential combination of Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, determining that Germany is big enough for two private banks, Handelsblatt reported.

Billionaire Feinberg, who revived speculation about a merger after buying stakes in both Frankfurt-based banks last year, reached the conclusion after talks with high-level officials in Germany in mid-December, the newspaper said, without disclosing where it obtained the information.

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank would have to be significantly more streamlined and effective -- and the banks' goals are insufficiently ambitious, the U.S. billionaire is said to have told officials. He met with officials at the Federal Chancellery and Finance Ministry in Berlin, with oversight authorities, as well as the banks, the newspaper said.

Shares of both banks surged Nov. 16 when the U.S. private equity firm disclosed that it owned a 3 percent stake in Deutsche Bank. The previous July, Cerberus bought a 5.01 percent stake in Commerzbank. Commerzbank stock has risen 6.7 percent since then, while Deutsche Bank has fallen 1.7 percent.

Cerberus declined to comment to Handelsblatt, as did Deutsche Bank. Commerzbank told the newspaper it maintains contact with existing and potential investors, “and Cerberus is no exception.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Paul Jarvis

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