Bank Degroof Petercam has acknowledged having received a takeover offer from the Belgian bank Belfius. According to Reuters, this offer was followed by two others from Crédit Agricole and ING. Following these offers, Degroof Petercam declared that it was considering a new reorganisation of its shareholding following new takeover rumours. To do so, it is “currently working with advisors to assess its strategic options.”
“The board of directors of Degroof Petercam has been informed that some existing shareholders would like to increase their shareholding in the company and that other existing shareholders may review their current position. In this context, a mandate has been given to an investment bank to carry out an external valuation of the company and to analyse how a restructuring of the shareholding could be beneficial to the company’s interests,” reads a statement.
Family shareholders
The bank is currently 51.5% controlled by the DSDC consortium, which includes COBEPA, the Philippson, Haegelsteen, Schockert and Siaens families and the Cigrand family. 20.8% of the capital is controlled by the Peterbroeck and Van Campenhout families, 17.1% by financial shareholders--mainly small holders--and 7.6% by management and employees. It is valued at around €1bn. The Degroof Petercam group was created in 2015 from the merger of these two banks. It offers private banking, asset management and corporate finance services and at the end of 2021 had €86bn in assets under management. It has around 390 staff in Luxembourg.
“This exercise does not affect the future development of Degroof Petercam as a successful and solid investment house with strong growth prospects. Degroof Petercam will not comment further on this matter. All our attention and efforts are entirely devoted to the service of our clients and the growth of our activities,” the bank stated.
This is not the first time that a takeover or a major change in shareholding has been announced. In 2019, a takeover was mooted. At the time, Belfius, ABN-AMRO and Pictet were mentioned as potential buyers.
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