Chinese corporation acquires 90% stake in Luxembourg bank

Almaty. September 4. Silkroadnews – China’s Legend Holdings Corp has acquired a 90% stake in the Luxembourg bank, China Daily reported.
“Legend Holdings Corp, parent company of the world's biggest PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd, reached an agreement on Friday to buy 90 percent of Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL) for 1.48 billion euros ($1.76 billion)”, report said.
This deal, as noted, is the biggest purchase of a European credit bank by a Chinese company so far, as well as the largest overseas acquisition of Legend.
As reported in Legend, the purchase is made through its subsidiary in Hong Kong Beyond Leap Limited.
Report says, the deal is an important strategic investment for Legend, for which financial services are one of the key target industries. According to the head of Legend Liu Chunzhi, the corporation plans to support BIL and its current management, and also build BIL into an international bank.
It is expected that the deal, to be approved by the regulatory authorities, including the European Central Bank and Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, will be completed in the first quarter of next year.
Legend said that the corporation hopes to expand its presence in the financial sector of Europe through the deal and provide services to the enterprises participating in the Belt and Road initiative.
According to the annual report of BIL, its net profit fell to €110 million in 2016 from €134 million in 2015, in part due to write-offs and restructuring expenses.
Information on Legend’s talks with Precision Capital on purchase of 90% stakes of BIL appeared in July. The remaining 10% belong to the government of Luxembourg.
Founded in 1856, BIL is the oldest private bank in Luxembourg. It employs more than 2,000 people around the world, and as of the end of 2016 its assets were estimated at €37.7 billion.