Activist Fund Hudson Buys Deutsche Bank Stake as Shares Languish

(Bloomberg) -- Hudson Executive, an activist hedge fund, built a 3.1 percent stake in Deutsche Bank AG as the lender’s shares hover near all-time lows, adding to pressure on management to turn around the ailing business.

• The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the news, which was confirmed by a Deutsche Bank spokesman.

Key Takeaways

• CEO Christian Sewing will need to work with another top investor; Hudson joins Cerberus, HNA and the Qataris with the largest stakes in the company
• Sewing is under pressure to revive returns and halt a decline in revenue after posting the lowest third-quarter sales in eight years and abandoning some targets
• Hudson indicated in a separate statement that it is largely supportive of the existing strategy, and will benefit significantly from an uptick in interest rates when that comes
• Still, a new investor with a deep background in financial services may push Deutsche Bank to undertake a more radical strategy, and it’s unlikely to quell continued speculation the bank may end up merging with smaller rival Commerzbank AG

Market Reaction

• Deutsche Bank shares are up as much as 2.9 percent to 8.90 euros in Frankfurt trading on Thursday after hitting a low of 8.52 euros on Oct. 26.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Arons in Frankfurt at sarons@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Elisa Martinuzzi, Ambereen Choudhury

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.