FRANKFURT, Germany — German insurance giant Allianz AG said Thursday it is negotiating a possible buyout of Dresdner Bank AG, the country's third-largest commercial bank, in a deal that would create a European financial powerhouse.
But a deal is far from sealed, the company cautioned.
A takeover of Frankfurt-based Dresdner would be the third attempt at a deal involving Dresdner after merger attempts with Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank failed last year.
It would extend Allianz's reach from insurance products into asset management and retail banking.
"These talks are in advanced stages, but not yet finished," said Allianz spokesman Richard Lips. "Until now we have no facts or figures, only talks."
Allianz shares rose on investor hopes that a deal would strengthen its position as a leading player as Germans take more interest in their investments. With pension reform sweeping the continent, many Europeans are turning to U.S.-style private retirement funds to support them in old age.
A deal could also trigger a cross-border merger blitz as the region's banks jockey for position in a consolidating market.
Deutsche Bank chairman Rolf Breuer said Thursday his bank is in talks with several European insurers, including AXA of France, about distributing financial products through Deutsche Bank's retail chain, Deutsche Bank 24.
Munich-based Allianz, which already owns a 21 percent stake in Dresdner, is looking to buy the remaining stake in a stock and cash deal, according to newspaper reports in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Boersen-Zeitung and Handelsblatt.
The reports valued the deal at up to $19 billion and added that supervisory boards at both companies could vote on a deal as soon as Monday.
As part of the deal, Allianz would sell its 17 percent stake in Bayerische HypoVereinsbank AG to rival insurer Muenchener Rueckversicherungsgesellschaft AG in exchange for its stake in Dresdner.
Allianz spokesman Lips declined to comment on the details of the talks.