The word Wednesday was that an unnamed Chinese bank was taking a look
at Dresdner Kleinwort, the investment banking unit of Dresdner Bank.
Now, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said that the bidder is the
sovereign wealth fund Chinese Investment Corp. Ltd. and is in fact interested in all of Dresdner. Allianz AG recently
restructured its banking operations leading to speculation that Dresdner Kleinwort would go on the auction block.
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But it sounds a bit far-fetched. China is already reeling in its spending -- Reuters recently said cabinet-level approval is needed for major investments -- after it nearly took a bath on a proposed Bear Stearns Cos. investment and following a soaking on its $3 billion bet on Blackstone Group LP last summer.
There could be a more likely answer. Deutsche Bank made a run at Dresdner eight years ago but was forced to back off when DRKW bankers began fearing pink slips. The two days of rumors seem perfect for a German suitor. Someone like Deutsche could now take a trip to Berlin and demand Chancellor Angela Merkel borrow a page from French President Nicolas Sarkozy's play book and engineer a domestic deal. Playing on nationalist emotions, such a deal could be easy to sell -- even to hesitant investment bankers -- especially considering current sentiment towards China. - Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin
See story from Reuters
See restructuring story from TheDeal.com
