So far, only CVC Capital Partners – a European investor listed in Amsterdam – had been publicly linked to the deal.
Dutch banking giants ING and Rabobank have emerged as potential suitors for a 20 percent stake in Belfius, Belgium’s state-owned bank, as the government prepares to sell a fifth of its shares.
The move, first reported by Belgian financial newspaper De Tijd, could generate over 2 billion euros for the Belgian treasury.
Belfius, born from the ashes of the collapsed Dexia Group in 2011, has long been a strategic asset for Belgium. The state acquired the bank for 4 billion euros during the financial crisis, and while plans for an IPO in 2018 were shelved, the government now opts for a direct sale to one or more investors.
So far, only CVC Capital Partners – a European investor listed in Amsterdam – had been publicly linked to the deal. Now, De Tijd reports that Rabobank, ING, and France’s Crédit Agricole are also in the running.
The official launch of the sale process is expected within weeks, setting the stage for a high-stakes competition among Europe’s financial heavyweights. For Belgium, the transaction represents not just a financial windfall but a potential shift in the ownership of one of its most prominent banking institutions.
