Bloomberg is reporting that a number of financial companies have shown interest in acquiring Copenhagen based Retail FX and CFDs broker Saxo Bank. Following a failed 2022 IPO attempt, Saxo Bank effectively put itself up for sale earlier this year by announcing that its owners were hiring investment banking firm Goldman Sachs to “initiate a review of strategic opportunities” for Saxo Bank.
According to the Bloomberg report, entities who have “shown initial interest” in acquiring Saxo Bank include US online brokerage firm Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ:IBKR), as well as a consortium of private equity firms which include Sweden based Altor Equity Partners and US based Centerbridge Partners.
Altor Equity Partners is already the largest shareholder in Finnish asset management group Mandatum, which is one of the three large shareholders in Saxo Bank at just under 20%. The other large outside Saxo shareholder which has been looking to monetize its stake since the 2022 IPO attempt is China’s Geely Group, holding just under 50%. Most of the remaining interest in Saxo is owned by co-founder and CEO Kim Fournais.
The Bloomberg report added that the Altor / Centerbridge group has submitted a non-binding bid for Saxo Bank, that deliberations are ongoing, and that there are other potential bidders interested in Saxo Bank.
No indication was given as to the price range being discussed for Saxo Bank, or whether or not the “bids” or indications of interest being submitted were anywhere near the level where the shareholders would be willing to sell.
In the first half of 2024 Saxo Bank brought in Revenue of $345 million, turning a profit of $69 million.
We will continue to follow this story as it develops.
