(Updates to add background)
BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - Belgo-Dutch bancassurer Fortis' chief
financial officer, Gilbert Mittler, said the group will receive a 2 bln eur
investment in the group in coming weeks, but declined to reveal the source.
He said the group was making the announcement "not to show you that we can
make 2 bln" but because the group was about to go on a major roadshow and did
not want the announcement to come as a surprise.
"We are going on a very sizeable roadshow... to not mention it would not be
very fair to you, or to the financial community," Mittler said.
Breaking down the 3.2 bln eur that Fortis plans to use to shore up its
solvency position, Mittler said in addition to the 200 mln eur income from the
sale of the asset management business in Brazil to Santander SA, and the parking
joint venture it signed this week with France's Vinci SA, it is in "exclusive
negotiation" with another party.
"Fortis is engaged in another transaction that will, when closed, further
strengthen its solvency," the group said in a statement.
"The combined positive impact on solvency of the recently announced
initiatives and the transaction currently negotiated is estimated to be around
3.2 bln," it added.
The name will be revealed "at the time we close the deal with mystery
potential partner," Mittler said.
"It's because the amount is sizeable that we decided to hint," said Mittler,
adding that full details would be released "in a few weeks".
Asked by reporters if the partner was Ping An, the Chinese insurer which
already has a stake in Fortis, Mittler declined to comment.
"On the exclusive negotiations -- whatever name you mention, we will not say
yes or no," he said.
Asked about divestments to help fund the ABN acquisition, Mittler said: "We
have a list of a number on non-strategic investments, which are things that we
can either not integrate from ABN Amro, or bits and pieces at Fortis that no
longer fit" that would be sold off over the coming year.
frances.robinson@thomson.com
fr/rfw/fr/am
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