A potential tie-up that would have been the largest merger in the private equity real estate space this year has been scrapped, as Deutsche Bank and Guggenheim Partners have ended talks over a potential takeover of the German bank’s global alternative asset management business, RREEF.
According to a statement issued by Deutsche Bank, both parties “were unable to agree on terms for the sale of the business and mutually agreed to end exclusive negotiations.” A spokeswoman for Guggenheim declined to comment.
Deutsche Bank also announced that it has concluded the strategic review of its global asset management division, which was initiated in November 2011. The bank will make a further update on its asset and wealth management division as part of its commitment to communicate a long-term, bank-wide strategy in September.
In February, New York- and Chicago-based Guggenheim entered into exclusive talks to buy parts of Deutsche Bank Asset Management, including RREEF, which currently manages €41.9 billion in assets. The other parts on the negotiation table were DWS Americas, the mutual fund business in the Americas; DB Advisors, the global institutional asset management business; and Deutsche Insurance Asset Management, the global insurance asset management business. In May, the two firms agreed to end exclusive negotiations on buying three parts of the asset management division with a view to focus solely on a deal for RREEF.
Deutsche, Guggenheim pull plug on RREEF deal
The two firms have been “unable to agree on terms for the sale of the business and mutually agreed to end exclusive negotiations.”