FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Private equity firms JC Flowers and Lone Star have pulled out of the race for Landesbank Berlin (LBB), daily Die Welt reported in a pre-released article from tomorrow's edition, without saying where it obtained the information.
According to the newspaper both JC Flowers and Lone Star have informed the Berlin state ministry of finance that they will not make a binding offer for the city state's 81 pct stake in the institute.
According to the report this leaves Commerzbank, state banks West LB, Bayern LB and Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg as well as saving banks association DSGV as the remaining bidders for LBB.
Berlin must sell its stake in the bank to conform with EU directives and is considering an IPO as an alternative to a direct sale.
The state authorities are expected to decide in June which option will be pursued. judith.csaba@thomson.com jcs/jlc COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
© 2007 AFX News
