Investors line up for Depfa shares

DEPFA Bank Plc, Europe’s second-biggest provider of public finance, said demand for the 14.4 million shares being sold by its largest shareholder is outstripping the amount of stock on offer.

“The book is filling up very fast, and already now it looks like investors won’t get as many shares as they have subscribed for,’ said Henrik Hannemann, a spokesman for Depfa.

Merrill Lynch & Co., which is arranging the sale, will stop taking orders tonight and set the price tomorrow, he said.

Depfa earlier expected to close the book by 5pm local time today.

Depfa Holding, a group of eight banks and insurers, yesterday said it’s selling its entire 40.8% stake in the Dublin and Frankfurt-based company to institutional investors. The announcement came a day after Depfa shares rose to the highest level since the bank was created last year.

Most demand for the shares comes from Germany and Britain, Hannemann said. The stake is worth some 1.3bn.