Cash out at the top! Bank sell-off sweeps Europe Deutsche Bank (DB.US) shareholders plan to sell $280M shares

One of Deutsche Bank's shareholders is planning to sell about 16 million shares of the bank, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal is likely to be priced at €16.01 ($17.46) per share, for total proceeds of about €256 million ($279 million), according to the terms of the deal, which show Goldman Group is arranging the sale.

Representatives for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. The deal comes as the German bank's shares have risen more than 30% this year.

Earlier, a string of European companies sold shares as shareholders sought to cash in ahead of the U.S. presidential election and the earnings season, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. About $11 billion of deals have been priced since the beginning of September.

Bank stocks including Commerzbank, the National Bank of Greece and Santander Bank in Poland have been sold.

Deutsche Bank's chief financial officer recently ruled out a bid for Commerzbank, which received a takeover offer from UniCredit SpA of Italy.