ING Launches IPO for Insurer NN Group
Dutch bank ING is to offer the public a minority stake in its NN Group insurance business, as part of the final stage of restructuring imposed after a government bail-out during the 2008 banking crisis.
The Amsterdam-based bank said in a statement: “ING today confirms the intention to proceed with (an) initial public offering and listing on (the) Euronext Amsterdam of NN Group. The intended initial public offering [IPO] will consist solely of a secondary offering of a minority holding of NN Group’s … shares held by ING.”
While ING did not put a price on the offer, in April it said that it had secured €1.275bn (US$1.7bn) in investment in the NN Group ahead of the IPO. Three Asian-based firms would act as ‘anchor investors’ in the insurer, providing a cash injection of €150m.
In addition, ING has also issued mandatory exchangeable subordinated notes to the anchor investors to the value of €1,125bn. ING itself valued the NN Group at €10.7bn.
ING said that it intends to sell more than half of its shares in NN Group by the end of next year and the remainder by the end of 2016.
The bank’s chief executive (CEO) Ralph Hamers said that the IPO “signals the launch of the final major transaction in ING’s five-year restructuring. With the IPO of NN Group, we have substantially completed the repositioning of ING as a pure bank.”
The phased disposal of NN Group forms part of ING’s restructuring imposed on it by the European Commission (EC) after a €10bn government bail-out during the height of the 2008 banking crisis. The bank has already repaid more than €13.5bn of the state loan received in October 2008 and is expected to pay two more installments, each of €1.1bn by May 2015.
To date, ING has sold businesses in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America and Asia as part of its restructuring.
NN Group is a leading Dutch insurer and investment management company, with branches in more than 18 countries across Europe and Japan. It reported turnover of €905m for 2013.