Deutsche Bank has agreed to sell the German bank’s full 20% stake in Hua Xia Bank in a transaction that could be valued as high as $4 billion, exiting a nearly decade-long investment in China.
The sale, which will notably help improve Deutsche Bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio, could range between 3.2 billion to 3.7 billion euros based on final price adjustments. China-based insurer PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited is buying the assets.
“Now is the right time for us to sell this investment,” said John Cryan, co-Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank.
News of the sale isn’t exactly a surprise, as the Wall Street Journal earlier this year reported that Deutsche Bank had hinted it could reduce its stake in the Chinese lender.
Cryan, the new co-CEO of Germany’s largest lender, has made some fairly bold moves since ascending to the post this past summer. Most notably, Deutsche Bank recently announced it would pull out of 10 countries and cut 15,000 jobs to make the lender simpler. The bank will also suspend dividend payments for this year and next, all moves to better help control costs and lift capital ratios higher.
