FRANKFURT (Reuters) – U.S. investor Cerberus, which holds stakes in Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, favours a merger between the two lenders, a German newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Handelsblatt, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, said Cerberus had initially been against a merger but had changed its mind.
Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Cerberus was not immediately available for comment.
The U.S. buyout fund owns 3 percent of Deutsche Bank and 5 percent of Commerzbank, making it among the largest shareholders in both companies. It acquired those stakes in 2017.
Cerberus is now backing a merger because it doesn’t believe that Deutsche Bank can overhaul its operations on its own, Handelsblatt reported.
The investor also is of the opinion that a merger would allow the two to invest in technology together and save costs in other areas, the report said.
(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Edmund Blair and Mark Potter)
