It looks like around a dozen bidders made it to round two of the DWS auction. Reuters reports that Deutsche Bank AG has chosen around 12 bidders to conduct due diligence and submit binding offers by the end of next month.

The bank announced last November the strategic review of its global asset management division, except the DWS mutual fund operations in Germany, Europe and Asia, but including the DWS business in the U.S.

The Reuters article today did not name the bidders that made it to the next round. However, Dow Jones and City A.M both pointed to private equity firm Advent International as one of the bidders in the first round, and City A.M also named BlackRock.

It's unclear whether either bidder made it to the second round.

According to City A.M, up to 50 potential bidders "have shown interest."

Bloomberg reports that more than two dozen firms submitted first-round offers by the end of last week. Pleased with the interest, the Deutsche Bank management board officially decided at a meeting on January 10 to pursue a sale, an unnamed source told Bloomberg. The same source added that Deutsche Bank would prefer selling the business as a whole but would also consider bidders who are interested in buying pieces.

Sources told the wire service that some suitors valued the entire package between 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) and 2.5 billion euros, while some made bids for portions of the business.  

Edited by: HFD


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