THE HAGUE: Dutch banker ING yesterday said it has completed the sale of its South Korean insurance arm ING Life Korea to private equity firm MBK partners in a deal worth around ¤1.27bn ($1.73bn).
But the Amsterdam-based banker reiterated that the deal resulted in a ¤1bn after-tax loss “of which ¤950m were recorded in its 2013 third quarter results” on November 6.
ING posted an 84.7 percent plunge in net profit for the third quarter on the back of the loss-making sale to MBK.
Profits spiralled from ¤659m in 2012 to ¤101m.
ING is now left with a 10 percent indirect stake in ING Life Korea, equivalent to an amount of approximately ¤80m in the company, which employs 1,000 people and serves 1.3 million clients.
The Netherlands’ biggest bank announced the deal on August 26, which forms part ING’s drive to restructure its business as it sought to finish repaying ¤10bn in state aid, received in 2008 during the height of the financial crisis.
The banker has already paid back more than ¤11.5bn on the state’s loan received in October 2008 and is expected to pay two more instalments each worth ¤1.1bn by May 2015, ING spokesman Raymond Vermeulen said.
So far, ING has sold business in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America and Asia under its restructuring.
MBK Partners has offices in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. It has around 20 companies its portfolio and more than $8bn in capital under management.
AFP
