ABN Amro Bank agreed to buy German lender Hauck & Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank for 672 million euros (S$985.3 million), expanding the Dutch company’s reach in wealth management.
The purchase, from seller Fosun International, will add 26 billion euros in assets under management, ABN Amro said. That will bring assets at its German wealth management arm to around 70 billion euros.
“This is a rare opportunity to add scale to our German activities,” chief executive officer Robert Swaak said in the statement.
ABN Amro said the deal will make it the third-biggest private bank in Germany, where a large number of family-owned businesses is driving demand for wealth services. The Dutch lender, which is still controlled by the government, has been seeking to expand in wealth management as a way to offset an expected decline in lending revenue.
Shares of ABN Amro rose 0.6 per cent at 9.01 am in Amsterdam, bringing gains this year to 15 per cent.
Founded in 1796, Hauck & Aufhäuser is one of Germany’s oldest banks. Fosun bought the company in 2016 and later merged it with Bankhaus Lampe.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
The Chinese conglomerate, backed by billionaire Guo Guangchang, has recently been selling assets it previously amassed in Europe’s financial services industry as it seeks to reduce its debt load.
ABN Amro already owns Bethmann Bank in Germany. The Dutch bank’s wealth management unit had 216 billion euros in total assets under management at the end of last year, according to its annual report.
The impact of the acquisition on ABN Amro’s CET1 ratio is expected to be around 45 basis points, according to the statement on Tuesday (May 28).
The units of Hauck & Aufhäuser that provide alternative investment funds, management company and fund administration services aren’t part of the deal. BLOOMBERG