Finland based insurance company Sampo plc has announced that the sale of its 19.83% holding in Saxo Bank to (its former asset management unit) Mandatum will be completed on 13 May 2024, now that all regulatory approvals for the transaction have been obtained.
The parties had previously agreed that the Saxo Bank stake would be included with Mandatum, when Mandatum was spun off of Sampo as a standalone publicly traded company late last year. However the transfer of the Saxo stake couldn’t be completed before the Mandatum spinoff was effected, as regulatory approvals weren’t yet received at the time.
The formal purchase price for Sampo’s Saxo Bank stake was of €302 million, and was determined by the parties in advance of the Mandatum spinoff. Technically, that values the Copenhagen based Retail FX and CFDs broker Saxo Bank at €1.52 billion (USD $1.64 billion), although again that is based on a non-arms-length agreement between the parties made in 2023.
Mandatum said that the transaction is financed by a bank loan of €200 million and a cash payment, instead of the €280 million vendor loan offered by Sampo, as previously reported. The transaction will have no impact on Mandatum’s solvency position.
Saxo Bank has been reportedly engaging investment banks recently, to explore a sale of the company. Saxo Bank’s largest shareholder is China’s Geely Group, at just under 50%.
