Frankfurt - German insurance company Allianz is thinking of buying Dresdner Bank, in which it already holds a 21,7 percent stake, and then breaking it up, press reports said today.
The reports were the latest in a series of rumours surrounding Allianz's intentions after a planned merger between Dresdner and Commerzbank collapsed last month. The Die Welt newspaper said today that the plan would involve Allianz first taking full control of Dresdner Bank, the third-largest private bank in Germany, then shedding all but its retail banking and asset management operations.
This would mean selling Dresdner's investment banking operation Kleinwort Benson and its business lending and consultancy activities, the newspaper said, citing banking industry sources.
"According to our sources, this is one option among several but it is a plausible, serious option," the newspaper said.