Dutch lender ING buys 17.6% stake in wealth manager Van Lanschot

Van Lanschot Kempen NV

03/03/2025 08:30

AMSTERDAM, March 3 (Reuters) - Dutch bank ING INGA.AS said on Monday it has agreed to buy a  17.6% stake in Van Lanschot Kempen VLAN.AS, which would take its total stake in the Dutch private wealth manager to 20.3%.

ING said it viewed the move as a long-term investment and that it supported the current management of Van Lanschot, which predominantly operates in the Netherlands and Belgium.

"Acquiring this stake presents an attractive financial opportunity and with this transaction we are executing on our goal to enhance our position in private banking and wealth management," ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk said.

"Based on Friday's closing price, the acquisition is valued at 347 million euros ($360.71 million)," KBC Securities said in a note.

ING shares traded up 0.8% shortly after markets opened in Amsterdam.

Van Rijswijk earlier this month told Reuters ING was looking for opportunities to buy rival banks in major European countries, including Germany, Italy and Spain, to boost its size.

The comments illustrated the rekindled ambitions of the Dutch lender, which was bailed out by the government in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008, and then reinvented itself as a pioneer of low-cost, no-frills online banking, alongside its smaller wholesale bank.

ING is buying the Van Lanschot shares from investor Reggeborgh. It has directly acquired a stake of 7.2%, bringing its stake to 9.9%. The remainder of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

($1 = 0.9620 euros)

 (Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Susan Fenton)

 ((Bart.Meijer@thomsonreuters.com;))