By Tang Guhan
China's investment conglomerate Legend Holdings recently announced it had acquired Luxembourg's third-largest bank, the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL), and got the relevant permission from both the Luxembourg and Chinese authorities.
It successfully obtained 89.936 percent of the overall shares of the BIL for 1.534 billion euros (approximately RMB11.741 billion).
Liu Chuanzhi, the chairman of Legend Holdings, noted this was another significant acquisition after the buyout of IBM's personal computer services in 2004. "The move signifies its strategic importance to both the BIL and Legend Holdings."
The bank will sustain its corporate governance and management group after the move.
The investment will enhance Legend's financial sectors. Moreover, after the buyout, the BIL will account for 35 percent of the total assets of Legend Holdings while Lenovo will descend from 54 percent to 33 percent accordingly.
Lenovo's unsatisfactory operating performance has hampered the stock price for Legend. The assets structure will be further balanced after the acquisition, which is expected to revert the current passive situation.
The collaborations between Legend's member companies and the BIL will improve both the values of the two sides.
Legend noted it would provide financial and operational support for the BIL to sustain its leading status in Luxembourg.
Furthermore, it will help the BIL to expand its business across the world especially in China by leveraging its global resources.
The BIL is a comprehensive bank located in Luxembourg. Founded in 1856, it has branches in Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Dubai.
It has employed over 1,922 staffs and provides banking services to 205,000 customers. Its retail banking services, corporate business and wealth management services have been ranked third, second and fourth respectively in Luxembourg.
The operating income of the BIL amounted to 553 million euros (RMB4.28 billion) with a net profit of 117 million Euros in 2017.
