German banks shun 10 bln eur Postbank bid-sources

FRANKFURT, June 25 (Reuters) - German banks eyeing a possible bid for the country's biggest retail lender, Deutsche Postbank (DPBGn.DE), are not prepared to pay as much as 10 billion euros ($15.58 billion) to buy it due to deteriorating markets, sources close to the would-be bidders said on Wednesday.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month that Postbank's majority owner, Deutsche Post (DPWGn.DE), had received expressions of interest that were clearly above 10 billion euros, Postbank's market capitalisation at the time. But on Wednesday, sources close to potential German bidders Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) and Dresdner Bank (ALVG.DE) said such a price was no longer realistic in the current market environment, noting also that the presence of other takeover targets put downward pressure on the price.

"The price is playing a decisive role," said one source familiar with the situation, adding that Postbank appeared overvalued in relation to other financial shares after months of takeover speculation.

Market talk of a 20 to 40 percent premium was unrealistic, the source said.

Postbank shares rose by as much as 9 percent earlier on Wednesday on renewed takeover speculation, bringing the lender's market capitalisation to around 9.7 billion euros.

Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank and Postbank have also explored prospects for a three-way merger in recent weeks.

The sources close to the companies on Wednesday said the talks between Allianz-Dresdner and Commerzbank were much further advanced than those about a joint bid by Allianz and Commerzbank for Postbank.

The potential synergies in a Commerzbank-Dresdner Bank merger were higher than in a merger between Commerzbank and Postbank, which is focused more heavily on retail customers, one of the sources said.

Deutsche Bank, Allianz and Commerzbank all declined comment.

(Reporting by Philipp Halstrick, Christian Kraemer and Patricia Nann)