Deutsche Bank swoops on $13 bln Postbank

Deutsche Bank swooped on rival Deutsche Postbank with a deal worth up to $13 bln that could give it control of Germany's biggest retail lender within three years.
It is the second bumper all-German banking deal in as many weeks after Commerzbank bought Dresdner Bank. The sale promises a windfall for shareholders in Deutsche Post, which is surrendering control of Postbank.
Deutsche Bank is taking a stake of 29.75% in Postbank for almost 2.8 bln euros ($3.92 bln) or 57.25 euros per share. It will ask shareholders for up to 2 bln euros to pay the bill.
The Frankfurt group has also agreed options that would give it nearly all of Post's remaining shares — a move that would trigger a full-blown takeover offer for the group.
Shares in Postbank tumbled about 5% to 43.50 euros while Deutsche Bank's stock fell more than 2%. Post shares meanwhile rose more than 4% as investors rubbed their hands at the prospect of a payout.
Deutsche Bank's move comes in the wake of investor frustration with the group's overdependence on its now-flagging investment bank. Shareholders have been pushing for a stronger retail bank to counter the boom and bust of the financial markets.
A takeover of Postbank — which Deutsche boss Josef Ackermann turned down before its 2004 stock-market listing at 28.50 euros a share — keeps Spain's Banco Santander SA , which was also stalking Postbank, off its doorstep.
JP Morgan said earlier that the deal — Deutsche Bank's biggest since buying Bankers Trust — made little strategic sense and was mainly defensive.
"Deutsche Bank would not be interested in having Santander and Postbank in their back yard," its analysts wrote.
Deutsche has been stretched as its bill from the financial crisis swelled beyond $11 bln, putting it among the top 10 global casualties of the turmoil.
It has more than 900 branches in Germany, while Postbank has 850 of its own branches plus access to thousands of post offices where it sells bank services over the counter.
Postbank is one of the few remaining retail banking prizes after Deutsche Bank was outbid by a French bank in July for Citigroup's small-loans business in Germany.