HSH Nordbank eyes Landesbank Berlin

‘We will officially declare our interest’ in buying LBB, HSH Nordbank’s chief Hans Berger told the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The deadline for potential bidders to officially make known their interest was midday on Monday.

Hamburg-based HSH Nordbank will be submit a bid on its own, Berger said.

Two other regional banks, BayernLB and LBBW, have already said they will enter the race for LBB, while WestLB, the largest German public sector bank, has not yet decided.

LBB is estimated to be worth around five billion euros.

The city state authorities of Berlin currently hold a stake of 81 percent in LBB, but have been ordered to sell their stake by the EU competition authorities.