Deutsche Bank Reportedly Pursuing Takeover of Postbank

Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest financial institution, wants to completely take over Postbank, according to a newspaper report. Postbank, the banking unit of Germany's postal service Deutsche Post, is scheduled to be floated on the stock market next month. But the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday that Deutsche Bank was holding talks with the government, which controls around 60 percent of Deutsche Post. "Yes, we're working on it," the paper quoted a Deutsche Bank supervisory board member as saying. Deutsche Bank has refused to comment of the report, but it is thought to be interested in Postbank to strengthen its retail banking operations. If it managed to buy Postbank for an estimated €6 billion ($7.12 billion), it would double its retail market share to almost 17 percent. Postbank's initial public offering would then be cancelled.