Deutsche Bank Set for $1 Bln Windfall from Zim Bets
Deutsche Bank is on course to make up to $1 billion on a long-shot bet on Israeli shipping firm Zim after it surged in value on the back of record-high global freight rates, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the report
said that Mark Spehn, a distressed debt trader at the German bank, had wagered
less than $100 million over the past five years on building a position in the
company through bond and bank loans as shipping rates fell.
Zim recovered to float on the stock market on Jan. 28 this
year and has almost tripled in value since, yielding hefty gains for its
backers and making it among the most successful of recent initial public
offerings.
According to Refinitiv data, Deutsche Bank is the company's
second largest shareholder with a 13.68% stake, worth $923 million.
Zim said on June 4 that Deutsche Bank had been among those
to sell shares in the company in a secondary offering worth $279 million.
If true, the numbers would make the Zim trade one of the
most profitable for the bank since its asset-backed securities division made
bets against the U.S. subprime sector in the run up to the 2008 financial
crash, raking in almost $2 billion.
Comments
Post a Comment