Delen Investments has reached an agreement with the partners of Capital & Finance regarding the acquisition of their participation (90%) in Capital & Finance ('Capfi') and its 100% subsidiary Capital & Finance Asset Managment. Together, Bank Delen and Capfi will manage client portfolios in an amount of € 15.2 billion (figures 22 June 2007).
Through this transaction, the 'Best Private Bank in Belgium 2007 - Euromoney' (Bank Delen) and the 'Great Price for the best fund manager in the Specialised Products 2007' (Capfi) join forces on the Belgian private banking market. This transaction is still subject to the approval of the BFIC ('CBFA').
Capital & Finance was established in 1989 as an independent asset manager and founded in 1991 its 100% subsidiary Capital & Finance Asset Management. Today, they manage € 2,748 million of assets of a mainly private clientele. Capfi applies an extremely performing business model, built on mixed, flexible investment funds. 4 of their funds continuously have ranked first in their S&P category in Belgium/Luxemburg: the starfund Universal Invest Global Flexible (started in 1996), but also Universal Invest Low (1994), Universal Invest High (1997) and the European sharefund C+F Euro Equities (1998).
This combination will enable the partners and the personnel of Capfi to concentrate even more on their fund management business and client relations, thanks through the support of banking services, information technology and the administrative services of Bank Delen.
Bank Delen and Capfi have chosen to cooperate as their company culture and their investment strategy are closely related, with a strong and direct focus on the personal relation with the clientele.
Both Bank Delen and Capfi already offer their clientele the full range of asset management services: dynamic portfolio management with good returns at a limited risk and a limited volatility and a global patrimonial advice on succession and family law.
The investment fund Athena managed by Bank Delen is as for investment policy and historical results similar to the above-mentioned Capfi funds.
Through this cooperation with Capfi, Bank Delen will strengthen considerably its presence on the Brussels and Walloon market, where it has been actively present since its integration of Banque de Schaetzen in 1994 and Havaux in 2000. The clientele of the new group Delen-Capfi will now almost be equal on both country sides.
All partners and the entire personnel of Capfi remain at the service of their clients. The headquarters of Capfi will remain at Watermaal-Bosvoorde, just as the headquarters of Bank Delen-Brussels at the Tervurenlaan. In Brussels, Bank Delen will convert its name into Bank Delen-Capfi.
The partners of Capfi will be represented at the board of directors and the management of Finaxis NV, Bank Delen NV and Beursfondsenbeheer NV, which takes care of the administrative and financial management of the Belgian investment funds of the group and which name will be changed into Capfi-Delen Fund Management NV.
After this transaction, the assets managed by Bank Delen-Capfi amount to € 15.2 billion (on € 12.2 billion without taking into account the investment funds of Bank Delen held by its own clientele of which the size amounts approximately € 3 billion. The group has branches in Antwerp, Brussels, Liege, Kortrijk-Roeselaere, Ghent, Luxemburg and Geneva.
Delen Investments will pay for the acquisition of Capfi a price of € 125 million (for 100%). The partners have the intention to reinvest a part of the purchase price in the AvH-group and will participate in the future evolution of the activities of the new Bank Delen-Capfi via earn outs.
In 2006, the new combination Delen-Capfi realised (pro forma) a gross turnover of € 96 million and a combined result of € 37 million. The cost-income ratio amounts to only 44%.
Finaxis controls besides Delen Investments also Bank J.Van Breda & C°, a specialised niche bank for entrepreneurs and liberal professions, which realised in 2006 a total bankproduct of € 79 million and a net profit of € 24.4 million. Approximately 18%, i.e. € 1.7 billion, of the funds under management by Bank Delen originate from the Van Breda clientele.
The Executive Committee of Bank Delen and the partners of Capfi are enthusiastic about the growth potentials that are created by this common platform, both in terms of autonomous growth in Belgium and in terms of external growth abroad.
Ackermans & van Haaren is a diversified group active in 4 key sectors: dredging, environmental and construction services (DEME, one of the largest dredging companies in the world - Algemene Aannemingen Van Laere, a leading contractor in Belgium), Real Estate and related services (Leasinvest Real Estate, a listed real-estate investment trust with real estate assets of approximately € 450 million - Extensa, an important land and real estate developer focused on Belgium and Luxemburg), private banking (Bank Delen, one of the largest independent private asset managers in Belgium - Bank J.Van Breda & C°, niche bank for entrepreneurs and liberal professions) and private equity (Sofinim, one of the largest private equity providers in Belgium, and GIB).
The group concentrates on a limited number of strategic participations with an important potential for growth. Market capitalisation of AvH is approximately € 2.4 billion. Since March 2nd 2007, the AvH share has been included in the reference index BEL20 of Euronext Brussels.
All press releases issued by AvH and its most important group companies as well as the 'Investor Presentation' can also be consulted on the AvH website: www.avh.be.
For further information please contact:
At Ackermans & van Haaren: at Bank Delen: at Capital & Finance:
Luc Bertrand Jacques Delen Arnaud Van Doosselaere
CEO-President of the Executive Committee President of the Executive Committee Partner
Tel. +32 (0)3 231 87 70 Tel.: +32 (0)3 244 55 66 Tel: 32 (0)2 663 64 64
Jan Suykens Bernard Woronoff
Member of the Executive Committee Partner
Tel. +32 (0)3 897 92 36 Tel: 32 (0)2 663 64 35
e-mail : dirsec@avh.be e-mail: bernard@capfi.be
website: www.avh.be website: www.capfi.be
