Deutsche Bank offices in the City of London, London, England, July 2, 2024.
Mike Kemp | In photos | getty images
On Wednesday, the Cologne Higher Regional Court ruled against the case. Deutsche Bank In a long-running legal dispute with shareholders who claim lenders were underpaid during a multi-stage takeover of German retail bank Postbank.
The 13 plaintiffs in the case argued that Postbank, which Deutsche Bank acquired through several interest purchases from Deutsche Post, was worth more than the 25 euros ($27) per share it paid in 2010.
The investors, 13 plaintiffs who were former shareholders of Deutsche Postbank (Postbank), argued that they were instead entitled to a significantly higher amount of €57.25 per share. This is the price at which Deutsche Bank purchased an initial 30% stake in Postbank just a few days ago. Acquisitions were hampered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the onset of the global financial crisis.
In 2018, Deutsche Bank and Postbank finally merged.
Legal proceedings related to the deal have cast a dark shadow over Deutsche Bank’s financial outlook and have also weakened its performance in the most recent second quarter. At the time, the lender had closed its 15th consecutive quarter of profits and posted a loss of €143 million. Supports provisions of €1.3 billion related to Postbank procedures.
Deutsche Bank later reached a settlement with nearly 60% of the plaintiffs in the case in August.
Earlier in Wednesday’s session, the lender reported that it disclosed 440 million euros of litigation provisions in the third quarter, which pushed net profit attributable to shareholders to a better-than-expected 1.46 billion euros ($1.58 billion). Yes. period.
Deutsche Bank said it would now analyze Wednesday’s ruling and dismissed the provisions for all outstanding claims by the plaintiffs, including interest accrued to date.
A Deutsche Bank spokesperson said: “The court has not permitted a further appeal to the German Federal Court. Deutsche Bank will assess whether to file an appeal of disapproval (an application for leave to appeal) after receiving written reasons for the decision.” .
Shares in the lender were down 2.3% at 10:58 a.m. London time.
— CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this report.
