Reuters: Mergers News: UPDATE 1-Rabobank eyes Robeco sale for 1.5-2 bln euro-media

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UPDATE 1-Rabobank eyes Robeco sale for 1.5-2 bln euro-media Apr 27th 2012, 05:56 Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:56am EDT AMSTERDAM, April 27 (Reuters) - Rabobank, the largest retail bank in the Netherlands, plans to sell its fund management arm Robeco for between 1.5 and 2.0 billion euros as part of a reorganisation of its businesses, a Dutch newspaper reported on Friday citing unnamed sources. Rabobank has appointed Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as advisers for the sale, Het Financieele Dagblad reported. Rabobank officials could not be reached for comment. Rabobank is working on a "strategic reorientation" for the next four years and looking at the capital requirements of its businesses as it, like other banks, has to comply with new rules known as Basel III, the paper said. As a result, it is reviewing subsidiaries including mortgage intermediary Obvion, car lease company De Lage Landen, and property unit Rabo Vastgoed, the paper said. Rabobank lost its triple-A credit rating from Standard & Poor's last year as the agency changed its ratings system. But unlike its main Dutch rivals ABN AMRO and ING Groep, its did not need state aid during the 2008 credit crisis, and did not make a loss during that period. However, it has already started a reorganisation of its businesses, selling its majority stake in private Swiss bank Sarasin for 1.04 billion Swiss francs ($1.15 billion) to global private banking group Safra in November. Robeco, which had 150.3 billion euros in assets under management at the end of 2011, sells a range of investment products to Rabobank and other banks. Cooperatively-owned Rabobank has its roots in the Dutch farming sector. It said in March that its international operations would focus on providing banking services to the food and agricultural industry. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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