According to the Financial Times, Qatar’s al-Thani family increased their stake in the German lender via two investment groups: Paramount Services Holdings and Supreme Universal Holdings.
The royals first bought into Deutsche Bank in 2014 when then-chief executive Anshu Jain persuaded them to invest as part of an €8bn (£6.8bn, $9bn) capital raising.
Shares in Deutsche Bank have more than halved over the past year and hit an all-time low of €11.38 on 7 July. The exact timing and price of the share purchase was not disclosed.
As of August 2015, the family held a 6.1% stake in the bank via the two investment groups. Both investment groups now hold just under 5%, ahead of BlackRock which holds roughly a 6% stake.
Board recommendation
The Qataris have also recommended the appointment of Stefan Simon to replace Georg Thoma who stepped down from the bank’s supervisory board in May.
Simon is a partner at the law firm Flick Gocke Schaumburg in Bonn and an honorary professor at the University of Cologne.
“We are pleased that our Qatari shareholders are banking on the success of Deutsche Bank as shown through their long-term holdings,” said Paul Achleitner, chairman of the supervisory board.
“We welcome Stefan Simon, a highly qualified attorney, to the supervisory board. He has a great deal of experience in corporate law, corporate governance and compensation oversight.”
Simon will stand for election as a member of the Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting on 18 May 2017. Until then, he is to be appointed as a member of the supervisory board by court order. The application for this appointment was submitted to the local court in Frankfurt am Main on Friday.
Paramount support
Paramount Services Holdings issued a rare public statement in March supporting Achleitner as chairman of Deutsche Bank, despite a more than 50% fall in the value of the lender’s shares.
Achleitner was facing pressure from investors over the bank’s weak performance, amid speculation that he would not win a second term when his contract expires in 2017.
“[His] leadership remains an important factor underlying Paramount Services Holdings’ investment case and confidence in Deutsche Bank,” the statement read.
