Qatar talks to acquire Turkish lender stall

Qatar National Bank’s talks to acquire Denizbank, the Turkish lender put up for sale by Dexia, remain stalled over price as other potential buyers, including Russia’s OAO Sberbank, express renewed interest, according to three people familiar with the situation. QNB is still seeking a price close to Denizbank’s book value, which stood at about $2.5bn at the end of last year, while Dexia is seeking more than 1.5 times book value, two of the people said, declining to be identified as the talks are private. Dexia is in discussions with buyers who had earlier considered bidding for Denizbank, the people added, including Sberbank, whose deputy chief executive officer said on Wednesday that his bank was looking seriously at a potential deal. European banks are seeking to sell assets, loan portfolios and entire units to raise cash amid the region’s debt crisis and to meet tougher capital requirements. Lenders including Deutsche Bank and France’s Societe Generale have announced plans to shed more than $1trn in assets, according to Bloomberg data. Spokesmen for Dexia and QNB declined to comment. Dexia, based in both Paris and Brussels, put Denizbank up for sale as part of a rescue plan imposed by the French and Belgian governments when the debt crisis eroded its ability to obtain funding. The sale of Denizbank, which is listed on the Istanbul bourse with a market value of 11.5 million liras ($6.4bn), last year attracted interest from HSBC Holdings and Sberbank, in addition to QNB. The British and Russian banks dropped out of the process over price disagreements. Italy’s UniCredit said last month that it would consider a bid for Denizbank if talks with QNB fail to reach a deal.