Chinese Conglomerate Takes Stake in Deutsche Bank

By Jenny Strasburg 

Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has taken a 3.04% stake in shares of Deutsche Bank AG through a European asset manager, according to securities filings.

HNA Group holds the stake through C-Quadrat Asset Management (UK) LLP, the U.K. subsidiary of C-Quadrat Investment AG, founded by Austrian investor Alexander Schütz.

A C-Quadrat spokesman in Frankfurt said Friday that HNA Group holds the stake through a special-purpose vehicle. It's unclear how much HNA Group paid for its stake, which crossed the 3% threshold this week, triggering public disclosure. The C-Quadrat spokesman, Thomas Katzensteiner, wouldn't comment on when the shares were purchased or at what price.

The Chinese investors "do not rule out" increasing their stake, but their intentions are to "stay below 10%" of outstanding Deutsche Bank shares, Mr. Katzensteiner said.

He added: "They're seeing Deutsche Bank as an attractive investment in the financial sector. They want to support the bank and the management."

He said neither C-Quadrat nor the Chinese investors are commenting about Deutsche Bank strategy.

Deutsche Bank shares were down 3.2% in Friday trading as of early afternoon, to EUR17.92.

The shares are up 4% this year after hitting multi-year lows in 2016, when investors were shaken by concerns about legal-settlement costs, flagging profits and a potential move by the lender to raise capital by selling new shares. Deutsche Bank executives have said they meet capital requirements and want to avoid issuing shares.

Write to Jenny Strasburg at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2017 09:21 ET (14:21 GMT)

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