Belgium's largest financial services provider, Fortis, has announced that it is to acquire the factoring division of Atradius, the global credit insurer. The agreement will allow the reciprocal use of the companies' two European networks.
European financial services company, Fortis, intends to integrate the Atradius Factoring units – which are located in Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany and Italy – into its Fortis Commercial Finance (FCF) division. The acquisition will have no material impact on Fortis’s net profit per share or solvency position.
Karel De Boeck, CEO of Fortis’s commercial and private banking unit, said: The acquisition of the Atradius Factoring units marks a major step towards achieving Fortis’s ambition to be among the top five European factors.
It will give us the market-leader position in Denmark and reinforce our operations in Italy, France and Germany. The Atradius Factoring units will add to our know-how and distribution capacity in the markets where they are present.
The agreement is expected to be finalized before the end of the year, pending approval of regulators and competition commissioners.
As a leading credit insurer, Atradius insures about E300 billion of world trade annually. Atradius Factoring employs approximately 160 staff and generated revenues of E31 million in fiscal 2004.