Kleinwort Benson Group (KBG), the wholly-owned subsidiary of RHJ International (RHJI), has agreed to acquire BHF-BANK (BHF) from Deutsche Bank for 354 million (US$486.3 million).
As per the agreement, KBG will acquire 91% stake in BHF for 322 million (US$442.3 million) in cash, while RHJI will acquire the remaining 9% stake directly by issuing RHJI shares to Deutsche Bank at par value.
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The acquisition follows a decision by BlackRock, one of the original co-investors, to withdraw from the transaction.
As a consequence of BlackRock’s decision, the associated capital increase in KBG has been revised, with RHJI’s retained interest increasing to 65% from the 60% that was connected with the original transaction, while the balance of 35% is divided among the three remaining co-investors: Fosun Group, AQTON SE (an investment company wholly-owned by German entrepreneur Stefan Quandt), and entities affiliated with Timothy C. Collins.
Leonhard Fischer, CEO of Kleinwort Benson Group and RHJI, said: "Today’s announcement is a decisive development in our proposed acquisition of BHF-BANK. While we are disappointed at not having been able to conclude the transaction as originally envisaged, we accept BlackRock’s decision to withdraw from the process and would like to thank them for their unwavering support of RHJI’s financial services strategy as a major shareholder.
"Given the progress that has been made to date and the strong support of our remaining co-investors, we are confident that we will be able to secure the necessary regulatory decisions in the near future, and remain committed to a return of capital to our shareholders should the transaction not proceed," Fischer added.
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