BNP Paribas has announced it will take control of Fortis' operations in Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as the international banking franchises, for €14.5 billion. This transaction provides BNP Paribas with the opportunity to roll out further its integrated banking model in Europe, said a press note issued from BNP Paribas. As a result of this transaction, BNP Paribas will have two new domestic markets, Belgium and Luxembourg, to add to its existing domestic markets in France and Italy. This deal confirms BNP Paribas' position as the Eurozone's leading cross-border bank with 4 domestic markets.
The businesses acquired consist of Fortis operations, excluding the Dutch operations acquired by the Dutch State. In particular, the acquired perimeter includes:
- 1,458 branches located in Belgium, Luxembourg, and all other countries except the Netherlands (including Poland, Turkey and France), as well as the Fintro branch network in Belgium
- Fortis' insurance business in Belgium
- Fortis' investment management activities (including former ABN AMRO Asset Management)
- Fortis' private banking business outside the Netherlands
- Fortis' merchant banking activities outside the Netherlands
- Fortis' consumer finance activities outside the Netherlands
In all the businesses, BNP Paribas and Fortis will benefit from strong complementarities and will form together a leading financial services group in Europe.The BNP Paribas Group will thus become a market leader in Belgium and Luxembourg (with respectively 3 million and 280,000 retail clients), committed to supporting the real economy of both countries and providing its clients access to one of the widest financial services networks in the world. In all their businesses,
