Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Key target shareholder cool on Dutch bid

Tim Jackson
Friday 11 September 1992 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A KEY shareholder in Banque Bruxelles Lambert yesterday poured cold water on the proposed bid from ING, a Dutch banking and insurance conglomerate.

Officials of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert appeared unconvinced that an alliance with a foreign rather than domestic firm was the best route for Belgium's second biggest commercial bank. They indicated that they did not yet consider the proposed ING offer price of BFr3,600 ( pounds 64) a share to be satisfactory.

GBL, a holding company chaired by Albert Frere, owns over 13 per cent of BBL and controls another 10 per cent. It is believed to be the most important investor that ING must win over.

The proposed bid is part of a long-standing ING strategy to create a single business that sells both banking and insurance services. ING is itself the product of a merger between a large Dutch bank and an insurance company. If its plans for BBL succeed, the result would be the world's biggest banking and insurance group.

ING set a bid in train on Wednesday when it announced its wish to buy the 6.7 per cent of BBL's equity that is held by two Italian companies. Its conditional offer, which would be paid for in cash and financed by the issue of preference shares, values the Belgian bank at some BFr64bn.

BBL's main attraction lies in its network of almost 1,000 branches in Belgium, adjacent to territory that the Dutch bidder already knows well.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in