ING cuts stake in investment firm NN in line with 2008 bailout deal
Dutch banking giant ING last night cut its stake in NN, an insurance and investment management company.
ING has agreed to sell 45m shares at €24.46 per share, making the sale worth €1.1bn (£780m). The deal slashes ING’s stake in NN from 54.8 per cent to 42.4 per cent.
NN said it would purchase 5.9m shares, valued at a total of €150m, as a repurchase. It intends to cancel all or part of the repurchased shares, subject to shareholder authorisation. The deal is expected to settle on 29 May.
ING had agreed to divest more than 50 per cent of NN by the end of 2015 and 100 per cent by the end of 2016.
The agreement was a term agreed with the European Commission in 2008 and 2009 when the bank was bailed out by the Dutch state during the financial crisis.
The remaining shares in NN held by ING will be subect to a lock-up period of 90 days.