Landsbankinn has today signed an agreement to sell its 31.2% holding in Borgun hf. The sale price is ISK 2,184 million. The purchaser is a diverse group of investors along with a company owned by the management of Borgun. Borgun is a leader in the development and practical application of solutions in the field of electronic payments. These changes will not affect the customers of Borgun or its operations. In compliance with law, the sale is subject to the approval of regulators.
Steinthór Pálsson, CEO of Landsbankinn: "In the past years, Landsbankinn has had a minority holding in Borgun, with Íslandsbanki holding the majority of shares. A settlement with the Icelandic Competition Authority from 2008 severely limits Landsbankinn's involvement in the activities of Borgun as a shareholder. It has, moreover, been the aim of competition authorities to limit shareholding by banks in each payment card company to one bank at any given time. This position was not in the interest of Landsbankinn and we consider this transaction a positive solution for the Bank, the company and the new owners."
Magnús Magnússon, representative of Eignarhaldsfélag Borgunar slf: "Stakeholders in Eignarhaldsfélag Borgunar slf. are pleased with the purchase and the entire process has been extremely successful.”
Haukur Oddsson, CEO of Borgun: "We at Borgun view this change in ownership as a positive development. Landsbankinn has been a dependable yet very distant shareholder, bound as it was by the 2008 settlement with the Icelandic Competition Authority that severely limited its involvement in operations. This transaction is in line with developments in neighbouring countries, where banks have been selling their shares in payment card companies as such activities are no longer considered a part of core operations.”
For further information, contact:
On behalf of Landsbankinn: Kristján Kristjánsson, pr@landsbankinn, +354 410 4011/+354 899 9352
On behalf of Borgun: Haukur Oddsson, CEO, ho@borgun, +354 560 1600
On behalf of the buyers: Magnús Magnússon , magnus@orbis-invest.com, +354 615 0065