European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is exploring the acquisition of a stake in Belgian state-owned bank Belfius, ahead of a possible initial public offering (IPO), according to two sources familiar with the matter. Reuters reports this.
The Belgian government plans to sell a 20 to 30 percent stake in the bank as part of efforts to raise billions for defense spending, the sources told Reuters.
CVC has expressed interest in purchasing a share, while other potential bidders could include banks, institutional investors, and sovereign wealth funds, the sources added.
Belfius, valued at approximately 10 billion euros based on its 2025 net profit of 1.16 billion euros, was created after the Belgian government acquired Dexia’s Belgian banking unit for 4 billion euros in 2011 following the financial crisis. Representatives for CVC, Belfius, and the Belgian government declined to comment.
Belfius’ valuation could place its price-to-book ratio at around 0.8 times, assuming equity of 12.5 billion euros by December 2025. This compares to European peers like BNP Paribas, trading at a discount to book value (0.76 times), and ING Groep and Julius Baer, trading at premiums of 1.35 and 1.8 times, respectively, according to LSEG data.
