Deutsche Bank and its asset management arm DWS Group are weighing the possibility of taking a “significant” minority interest in insurance company Frankfurter Leben Gruppe, reported Bloomberg.
The insurance consolidator is majority-owned by Fosun International.
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Such a move would mark Deutsche Bank’s return to the life insurance space since it withdrew from the sector roughly ten years ago.
Sources cited by the news agency indicate that both Deutsche Bank and DWS are considering injecting capital into Frankfurter Leben in exchange for a stake in the company.
Discussions remain at a preliminary stage and there is no certainty that any deal will be finalised.
Frankfurter Leben currently oversees around 700,000 policies and manages investments totalling approximately €13bn ($15.5bn), with a workforce of 170.
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By GlobalDataIf an agreement is reached, Frankfurter Leben may be positioned to expand its acquisition efforts and potentially restart offering new life insurance policies, the sources said.
One possible acquisition target could be Zurich Insurance Group’s German life insurance business, which has around $20bn (SFr15.34bn) in assets and is currently up for sale.
Other insurance portfolios currently on offer include Condor, owned by R+V Versicherung, according to sources.
Additionally, Athora Holding, which is backed by Apollo Global Management, is reported to be considering a sale of its German division after facing challenges in the local market, the news publication added.
Spokespeople for Deutsche Bank, DWS and R+V refused to comment on the matter.
Fosun did not immediately respond to enquiries outside standard business hours in Hong Kong.
Deutsche Bank’s potential return to life insurance would reverse a strategy that saw it divest from the sector over the past decade, including past sales of Abbey Life to Phoenix Life.
The bank also sold its German insurance business, Deutscher Herold, to Zurich Insurance in 2002, the same portfolio now reportedly being placed on the market by Zurich.
DWS has previously shown interest in entering the life insurance space and managing associated assets.
