Deutche Bank to buy The National Discount Brokers Group for 2.67 times revenue

Weekly Corporate Growth Report, Oct 23, 2000

The Deal: Deutche Bank has agreed to purchase the National Discount Brokers Group for $49 a share in cash. The deal values the financial services company at over $1 billion.

Discussion: Formerly known as Sherwood Group, the National Discount Brokers Group is the parent for National Discount Brokers, an online retail brokerage that focuses on Internet and telephone trading through its Web site, www.ndb.com. The broker offers online clients investing and finance lessons through NDB University, a joint venture with money.com Another unit, Sherwood Securities, is a broker for institutional investors and a market maker for Nasdaq and small-cap stocks. The company's Millennium Clearing Corporation is being set up to provide in-house clearing services.

Deutsche Bank is the world's second largest bank, ousted from the top spot by Mizuho Holdings. The bank's operations are divided into Retail and Private Banking; Corporate and Real Estate; Global Corporations and Institutions including investment banking and global equities operations; Asset Management; and Global Technology and Services units. The company is looking to shore up its flagging retail banking operations and expand its investment banking reach. Deutsche Bank has some 2,300 offices worldwide; operations are concentrated in Europe with additional markets in Asia, the Pacific Rim and the Americas.