Eighteen months after the rumours first began, the first bids for the acquisition of Legend Holdings’ shares in Bil are reportedly expected by the end of September. (Photos: Shutterstock/Montage: Paperjam)

Eighteen months after the rumours first began, the first bids for the acquisition of Legend Holdings’ shares in Bil are reportedly expected by the end of September. (Photos: Shutterstock/Montage: Paperjam)

The process of selling Bil is said to have reached a new stage. According to the Financial Times, the first bids are expected by the end of September. European and Middle Eastern institutions are said to have expressed an interest, some of them in only part of the bank.

The strategic review launched in 2025 would evolve into a sale process. For the first time, a deadline has been set for the submission of initial bids.

As early as 21 March 2025, initial reports suggested that Legend Holdings was exploring several options, including the sale of its stake in Banque Internationale à Luxembourg. Goldman Sachs was already working alongside the Chinese group, and the bank was at that stage estimated to be worth between 2.5 and 3 billion euros.

The Financial Times has reported three further details this Sunday. The first bids are expected towards the end of September. European and Middle Eastern institutions are said to have expressed preliminary interest. Some bidders may, however, be targeting only certain parts of Bil. The newspaper does not name any potential buyers nor does it specify which businesses are involved in these possible partial bids. Discussions are said to be at an early stage and no transaction is guaranteed.

This acceleration was not yet apparent in the latest published accounts. In its half-year results released on 28 August, Legend Holdings still listed Bil as one of its operating segments and did not classify it amongst assets held for sale. The Chinese group, which held exactly 89.98 per cent of the bank as at 30 June, made no mention of either a sale process or any potential buyers.

Transactions of this nature are generally kept confidential for as long as possible, and an exploratory process need not necessarily be disclosed in the accounts until the sale is sufficiently advanced.

In the first half of the year, Bil reported revenue of €359 million, up 4 per cent, and a net profit of €90 million, unchanged year-on-year. Its assets under management stood at €50.3 billion, compared with €50.1 billion at the end of 2025. Deposits rose from €18.7 billion to €19.2 billion and loans from €16.2 billion to €16.8 billion. Its CET1 capital ratio stood at 14.39 per cent before the allocation of half-year profits.