Breaking: Nordic Financial Giant Sampo Bids for 19.9% of Saxo Bank

Monday, 02/10/2017 | 07:23 GMT by Victor Golovtchenko
  • Listed in Finland, Sampo PLC has a market cap of €25 billion.
Breaking: Nordic Financial Giant Sampo Bids for 19.9% of Saxo Bank
Bloomberg

Sampo Group, a financial services giant based and listed in Finland, is bidding for 19.9 percent of Saxo Bank. The parent company Samp PLC is led by Kari Stadigh and its market cap on the NASDAQ Helsinki is about €25 billion.[gptAdvertisement]

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Commenting on the deal, CEO Stadigh said: “Saxo Bank is an exceptionally interesting unicorn in the Nordic fintech area and Sampo is excited to participate in developing its global reach further. Saxo has a unique Trading Platform which, in our view, is the best in the market and offers great potential globally for white labelling to financial institutions, investors and family offices.”

Zhejiang Geely becomes majority shareholder

The move comes as the Chinese company Zhejiang Geely, that acquired 30 percent of the bank earlier this year, made an offer to up its stake to 51.5 percent, which would make it majority shareholder. Both transactions are pending regulatory approval.

The Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Geely Group, Daniel Donghui Li, said: “We have found Saxo Bank to be an extremely strong partner for many of Geely’s investment partners across the Greater China region. We at Geely Group believe that Saxo Bank’s technologies and product value can be effectively expanded across the Asian region, which is why we are willing to offer to buy more shares in Saxo Bank.”

Should the deal go through, the stake of co-founder and CEO Kim Fournais will remain unchanged at 25.7 percent.

Fournais commented on the news: “With both Geely Group and Sampo Group as key shareholders in Saxo Bank, we have a strong group of owners with a wish and ability to foster long term growth. Geely is well known for its strong power of Execution , ability to foster growth and entrepreneurial spirit.

With Geely we secure a strong position in core growth markets in Asia with greater China as center. Sampo Group has a long and impressive history in financial services bringing a wealth of experience and insight in the financial sector.”

The shareholders that are parting with their stakes are TPG Capital and SinarMas. The companies owned 29.26 and 9.9 percent respectively and they will both unload 100 percent of their shares.

“I would like to thank the current investors for their partnership, belief in Saxo Bank and their contribution over the years,” added Mr. Fournais.

Sampo Group, a financial services giant based and listed in Finland, is bidding for 19.9 percent of Saxo Bank. The parent company Samp PLC is led by Kari Stadigh and its market cap on the NASDAQ Helsinki is about €25 billion.[gptAdvertisement]

Register now to the London Summit 2017, Europe’s largest gathering of top-tier retail brokers and institutional FX investors

Commenting on the deal, CEO Stadigh said: “Saxo Bank is an exceptionally interesting unicorn in the Nordic fintech area and Sampo is excited to participate in developing its global reach further. Saxo has a unique Trading Platform which, in our view, is the best in the market and offers great potential globally for white labelling to financial institutions, investors and family offices.”

Zhejiang Geely becomes majority shareholder

The move comes as the Chinese company Zhejiang Geely, that acquired 30 percent of the bank earlier this year, made an offer to up its stake to 51.5 percent, which would make it majority shareholder. Both transactions are pending regulatory approval.

The Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Geely Group, Daniel Donghui Li, said: “We have found Saxo Bank to be an extremely strong partner for many of Geely’s investment partners across the Greater China region. We at Geely Group believe that Saxo Bank’s technologies and product value can be effectively expanded across the Asian region, which is why we are willing to offer to buy more shares in Saxo Bank.”

Should the deal go through, the stake of co-founder and CEO Kim Fournais will remain unchanged at 25.7 percent.

Fournais commented on the news: “With both Geely Group and Sampo Group as key shareholders in Saxo Bank, we have a strong group of owners with a wish and ability to foster long term growth. Geely is well known for its strong power of Execution , ability to foster growth and entrepreneurial spirit.

With Geely we secure a strong position in core growth markets in Asia with greater China as center. Sampo Group has a long and impressive history in financial services bringing a wealth of experience and insight in the financial sector.”

The shareholders that are parting with their stakes are TPG Capital and SinarMas. The companies owned 29.26 and 9.9 percent respectively and they will both unload 100 percent of their shares.

“I would like to thank the current investors for their partnership, belief in Saxo Bank and their contribution over the years,” added Mr. Fournais.

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