BankNordik has entered into a conditional sales agreement with Icelandic bank Arion Bank in respect of 51% of the shares in its wholly-owned Icelandic insurance business Vørður.
Due to restrictions on the sale of the remaining minority of shares, Arion Bank and BankNordik intend to issue a put and call option, enabling BankNordik to sell the stake to Arion Bank in 2017.
The combined agreed price for all shares in Vørður is EUR 37, 3 million.
Both the sale of 51% of the shares in Vørður and the put and call option agreement in respect of the remaining shares are subject to approval by the relevant Icelandic authorities.
Subject to the approval of the relevant Icelandic Authorities, BankNordik expects both transactions to be recognised in the financial statements for Q4 2015 or Q1 2016.
The shares in Vørður are recognised at a carrying amount of DKK 174 million, and following payment of taxes and expenses related to the transactions, BankNordik expects proceeds of not less than DKK 60 million from the sale of the Vørður shares.
As previously announced, BankNordik’s board of directors intends for the bank to pay an amount corresponding to the increase in the bank’s core equity resulting from the sale as dividend to the shareholders. Following completion of the sale of all shares in Vørður, the bank expects such an increase to amount to not less than DKK 100 million.
As the sale of shares subject to the put and call option are not expected to be exercised until 2017, the corresponding increase of BankNordik’s core capital and payment of dividends may be postponed to 2017.
Contact:
Árni Ellefsen, BankNordik CEO, +298 330 348
Rune Nørregaard, BankNordik CCO, +298 330 442
Guðmundur J. Jónsson,Vørður CEO, +354 514 1020 and +354 824 1020
BankNordik has banking activities in Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands and insurance activities in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. Founded in the Faroe Islands more than a century ago, the Group has 170,000 customers, total assets of DKK 16bn and approx.. 480 employees. The Bank is subject to the supervision of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority and is listed on NASDAQ OMX. www.banknordik.dk.
Disclaimer. Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. Any statements other than statements of historical fact, including without limitation those regarding BankNordik’s financial condition, future operating performance, business strategy, management plans and objectives for future operational prospects for the group are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from any expected future results or performance, express or implied, by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results include, among other things, general economic and business factors, competition, and interest rate and currency fluctuations. These statements should not be considered as a representation that anticipated events will occur or that expected objectives will be achieved. The information presented herein speaks only as of today’s date and BankNordik assumes no responsibility to update any of the forward-looking statements contained herein.