FRANKFURT, Nov. 5 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's efforts to sell wealth manager BHF have been dealt a blow with Bankhaus Lampe deciding not to bid, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, just before the deadline to submit binding offers.
Deutsche has been on the lookout for a potential buyer ever since it inherited BHF through the 1 billion-euro ($1.3 billion) purchase of Sal. Oppenheim in March.
But Lampe, which belongs to the Oetker family, has dropped out of the race, the source said.
A spokeswoman for Bankhaus Lampe declined to comment.
German publications Financial Times Deutschland and Manager Magazin also said that Lampe has walked away from the bidding process.
Deutsche has demanded that potential bidders buy BHF's wealth management, asset management and corporate banking units as a whole.
Lampe's exit might leave Liechtenstein-based bank LGT as a front runner but LGT has decided to only offer just over 300 million euros ($424 million) for 'large parts' of BHF, another person familiar with the matter said.
BHF's proprietary trading unit for example is not compatible with LGT's risk management policies, said a third person, who is familiar with LGT.
LGT declined to comment.
A handful of suitors including LGT and a joint venture of Bankhaus Lampe and private equity company KKR had expressed their interest in buying the Frankfurt-based unit.
No one at KKR was immediately available for comment.
BHF's own management has expressed a clear preference for strategic bidders, making it difficult for buyout firms to gain a foothold in an industry where hostile deals are not customary.
BHF, a 150-year old institution with roughly 1,500 employees and around 40 billion euros in client assets under management, has drawn interest from several parties looking to expand their wealth management businesses.
($1=.7071 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Kathrin Jones and Albert Schmieder; Writing by Edward Taylor) Keywords: BHF/LAMPE (Edward.Taylor@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1187; Reuters Messaging: Edward.Taylor.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Deutsche has been on the lookout for a potential buyer ever since it inherited BHF through the 1 billion-euro ($1.3 billion) purchase of Sal. Oppenheim in March.
But Lampe, which belongs to the Oetker family, has dropped out of the race, the source said.
A spokeswoman for Bankhaus Lampe declined to comment.
German publications Financial Times Deutschland and Manager Magazin also said that Lampe has walked away from the bidding process.
Deutsche has demanded that potential bidders buy BHF's wealth management, asset management and corporate banking units as a whole.
Lampe's exit might leave Liechtenstein-based bank LGT as a front runner but LGT has decided to only offer just over 300 million euros ($424 million) for 'large parts' of BHF, another person familiar with the matter said.
BHF's proprietary trading unit for example is not compatible with LGT's risk management policies, said a third person, who is familiar with LGT.
LGT declined to comment.
A handful of suitors including LGT and a joint venture of Bankhaus Lampe and private equity company KKR had expressed their interest in buying the Frankfurt-based unit.
No one at KKR was immediately available for comment.
BHF's own management has expressed a clear preference for strategic bidders, making it difficult for buyout firms to gain a foothold in an industry where hostile deals are not customary.
BHF, a 150-year old institution with roughly 1,500 employees and around 40 billion euros in client assets under management, has drawn interest from several parties looking to expand their wealth management businesses.
($1=.7071 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Kathrin Jones and Albert Schmieder; Writing by Edward Taylor) Keywords: BHF/LAMPE (Edward.Taylor@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1187; Reuters Messaging: Edward.Taylor.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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