Deutsche Bank acquires parts of ABN AMRO

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Deutsche Bank acquires parts of ABN AMRO

Deutsche Bank, Fortis and ABN AMRO have announced that they have reached an agreement whereby Deustche Bank will acquire certain parts of ABN AMRO.

The German firm will gain a portion of ABN’s commercial banking activities within the Netherlands, for a cost of €709m.

The businesses involved in the transaction are part of ABN’s Business Unit Netherlands (BU NL), including a pair of corporate client units, 13 commercial advisory branches, part of Hollandsche Bank Unie NV (a well-known bank based in Rotterdam), and factoring services firm IFN Finance BV.

Altogether the businesses gained by Deutsche Bank serve 35,000 commercial business clients, 8,000 private clients and employed 1,400 people.

They also hit a pre-tax profit level of €140m in 2007, and the sale involves a €300m discount on their net assets.

The sale addresses the European Commission’s concerns regarding the market dominance of Fortis in the Netherlands, and fulfils a commitment that Fortis made to resolve the issue.