Deals

Guggenheim, Deutsche Bank focus talks on RREEF

The two firms have mutually agreed to end exclusive negotiations on buying three parts of Deutsche Bank Asset Management's business put up for sale and focus solely on a possible sale of the bank’s global alternative asset management business, which includes real estate and infrastructure.

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After entering exclusive negotiations to buy the parts of Deutsche Bank Asset Management put up for sale last year, Guggenheim Partners has agreed to focus its exclusive discussions with Deutsche Bank solely on the potential sale of RREEF, its infrastructure and real estate investment management division. Talks on the sale of three other asset management units have ended. 

According to a statement released by Deutsche Bank on Friday, talks between Guggenheim and the bank have ended about a potential sale of 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.

“Deutsche Bank will continue to evaluate these businesses,” the statement said. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank was unable to provide additional details on pricing or timing of a potential sale of RREEF to Guggenheim. Representatives from Guggenheim declined to comment. 

Deutsche Bank’s management board initiated a strategic review of its global asset management division on 22 November 2011. In February of this year, it was announced that the bank had entered into exclusive negotiations with Guggenheim, a New York- and Chicago-based firm with $125 billion of assets under management. 

As of 31 March 2011, RREEF employed some 600 professionals and had €41.8 billion in assets. Within the portfolio are core, value-added, securities and opportunistic businesses, though most assets are in core real estate and securities. Some €22 billion of its property under management is located in the Americas, while €16.6 billon is in Europe and €3.4 billion is in the Asia-Pacific region.

Guggenheim does own an alternatives business. Within that is aviation, real estate, private equity and quantitative alternative investment. Guggenheim’s Real Estate team invests across the full spectrum of the US real estate market, including directly-owned properties, public market equity, private equity funds, public debt securities and high-yield private debt.