Dutch finance house NIB said yesterday it was interested in the private equity investments of Deutsche Bank worth several billion euros, but has not yet decided whether to make a bid.

NIB has held talks with Germany's biggest bank and was currently reviewing that portfolio of investments, NIB spokesman Mr Gerard Wentink said.

"NIB is looking at the private equity portfolio of Deutsche Bank, but it's way too premature to say that NIB is going to make a bid," he said. "NIB is in the secondary market so we are interested in that portfolio."

Deutsche Bank, which turned in a surprise third-quarter loss last Thursday as provisions for bad loans soared, declined to comment. A source close to the situation said that Deutsche was looking at selling some €2.5-€3.0 billion worth of private equity investments.

Wentink said if NIB did put in a bid, it would likely be for a portion of the total portfolio, but he did not give any figures.

"The whole portfolio is probably too big for NIB Capital," he said.

The source said DB Capital has about €6 billion in private equity assets under management and not all of that has been placed on the bidding block.

NIB Capital, owned by Dutch pension funds ABP and PGGM, specialises in investment banking and private equity.

Its private equity arm is one of the world's largest with over €14 billion of funds under management.

According to reports, Deutsche is looking to sell about 60 per cent of its private equity portfolio invested directly in firms including leisure business Center Parcs.

Deutsche Bank has said in the past that it was looking to cut its exposure to private equity.

Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann wants to sell the bank's biggest non-core equity holdings to reallocate capital and boost its market value as it focuses on core banking and asset management operations.

Late last month, the bank sold its 9.3 per cent stake in stock market operator Deutsche Boerse for around €360 million.

Deutsche Bank will book a tax-free gain of some €300 million from the sale of its Deutsche Boerse stake in the fourth quarter.