Commerzbank moves to sell Jupiter Asset Management

The German financial services giant Commerzbank yesterday confirmed it was hoisting a for-sale sign over Jupiter Asset Management, the fund manager which has caused it intermittent grief since its purchase in 1995.

The sale will bring the curtain down on one of the most colourful dramas in the usually colourless world of investment management. Commerzbank has spent most of the last seven years in legal disputes with Jupiter's founder, John Duffield.

Klaus-Peter Mueller, Commerzbank's chief executive, disclosed the plans after revealing that the group would set aside €1bn (£611m) for bad debts to Bavarian banks involved in the collapse of the KirchMedia empire.

He said Commerzbank was focusing on its domestic asset management businesses, and was seeking "solutions" for its struggling US and Italian fund investment arms. Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, will advise Commerzbank on how to "shrink to grow".

Analysts said Jupiter could fetch between £500m and £600m. Seven years ago Commerzbank paid £170m for Jupiter when it was a quoted company, and returned 25 per cent of the equity to staff under a scheme to buy it back in 1999 for a price determined by future profits.

However, a dispute over the final value led to the departure of Mr Duffield, who later won £5m after an unfair dismissal case and went on to found rival New Star Asset Management. There remains outstanding litigation between Commerzbank and Mr Duffield.

Mr Duffield has ruled himself out of the running for Jupiter, and New Star yesterday said buying the firm back would be a "backward move".

Robert Mumby, analyst at HSBC, said: "Commerzbank did not do a great job at integrating Jupiter, and I doubt there were many Jupiter products sold in Germany. They are a forced seller."

Analysts said Jupiter would likely fall to a US or Australian financial services group. Jupiter made profits of £45m last year on £11bn of assets.