By Pietro Lombardi 
 

Shares of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (DWS.DU) rose slightly on the first day of trading Friday after the issue price was set towards the lower end of the initial bookbuilding range.

Shares in the company, the asset-management arm of Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE), traded at 32.53 euros ($40.12) at 0841 GMT, after opening at EUR32.55.

On Thursday, Deutsche Bank said the initial public offering's issue price had been set at EUR32.50--just below the midpoint of the initial EUR30 to EUR36 price range--valuing the business at EUR6.5 billion.

The lender said it expected to raise proceeds of about EUR1.4 billion from the sale of a minority stake in the business.

The German bank has placed 44.5 million existing DWS shares, including 4.5 million shares to cover over-allotments, it said on Thursday.

Deutsche Bank is still DWS's main shareholder, with other investors holding 22.25%. As previously reported, Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Co. has agreed to buy a 5% stake in DWS, which had more than EUR700 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31.

"The rationale for the partial IPO is to unlock the potential of the business by fostering greater autonomy," the bank said in its annual report.

Write to Pietro Lombardi at pietro.lombardi@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2018 05:01 ET (09:01 GMT)