Banken: Helaba plant IKB-Übernahmeangebot für über 600 Millionen Euro

Die Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, known as Helaba, is reportedly preparing a binding offer of over 600 million euros for IKB Deutsche Industriebank. The Helaba board met on Tuesday. Final offers are due in the coming week according to anonymous sources. A final decision by Helaba on an offer has not been made; likely, the state of Hessen and regional savings banks must also agree as owners.

The Helaba offer is valued at more than 0.6 times the book value, according to the sources. Bloomberg News had previously reported that Crédit Agricole is also considering an offer for IKB. A Helaba spokesperson declined to comment. Lone Star, which has previously attempted to separate itself from the Düsseldorf-based IKB, had no immediate comment.

Lone Star has made several attempts over the years to separate from the Düsseldorf-based IKB. The bank was heavily affected by the subprime crisis two decades ago and was rescued by a consortium, including Germany's state development bank. Lone Star acquired over 90 percent of IKB's shares in 2008. The timing of a potential takeover comes at a critical moment for Helaba.

The bank cited commercial real estate burdens as a reason for the first-half profit drop from 458 million euros to 194 million euros in the current first half. For comparison, IKB earned 36 million euros after taxes in the first half. Helaba had recently expanded its position as the second-largest Düsseldorf-based location of the group, alongside the Rhine-Main region.

The bank is expected to continue growing its workforce in the coming years, as Helaba's CEO Hans-Dieter Kemler revealed during a recent Bloomberg interview. Helaba plans to expand its business with corporate clients in Düsseldorf, for example. More: Critical resources from mining waste could be worth billions in Europe.