Alm Brand Bank A/S is to acquire the majority of Saxo Privatbank A/S’s activities. The acquisition will increase Alm Brand Bank’s business volume by about 50 per cent.
Alm Brand Bank expects to significantly improve its earnings once the integration with its current activities has been completed.
“We are extremely pleased to get this opportunity to acquire a healthy and well-run business such as Saxo Privatbank. The acquisition aligns perfectly with the Alm Brand Group’s growth strategy and the ambition to help as many customers as possible across the full spectrum of their financial needs,” says Søren Boe Mortensen, CEO of Alm Brand A/S. “Our new customers transferring from Saxo Privatbank will experience becoming customers of a bank with an unfaltering focus on conventional banking with a high level of service, on private banking and on Asset Management activities. They will also experience getting a number of additional benefits from the combination with a bank that forms part of a major financial services group.’
The business combination will significantly grow Alm Brand Bank, providing scope for a number of synergies both in the bank and across the group’s business areas and staff functions. This will significantly improve the bank’s earnings, said Søren Boe Mortensen.
Mortensen says: “We will be entering a partnership with Saxo Bank A/S concerning Saxo TraderGO, which will provide our customers with access to a professional and unique trading platform.”\
The acquisition price is DKK360 million, corresponding to the book value of the acquired assets and liabilities. The acquisition has been financed equity from the Alm Brand Group. Customer relationships taken over are assessed to represent a value of DKK150-200 million, which amount will be capitalised and written down over a number of years.
Implementation costs are expected to amount to about DKK200 million, relating primarily to the transition to a common data centre including system development.
Annual synergies in the order of DKK75 million are expected to materialise from 2019. The acquisition is expected to be completed on 1 April 2018, subject to approval by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority and the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority. The seller of the activities is Saxo Privatbank A/S, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S.
