BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Today Fortis and Bank Austria Creditanstalt Leasing (BA-CA Leasing) reached an agreement under which Fortis Lease Group will acquire BA-CA Leasing's Italian activities, Austria Finanza and Austrolease, in a cash transaction valued at EUR 32 million. Philippe Delva, CEO and Managing Director of Fortis Lease: "This important acquisition is in line with the strategy outlined by Fortis Lease Group. It will further strengthen Fortis's ambitions to provide a complete range of financial services to European companies with cross-border activities. It will also secure Fortis Lease Group's position as a top-five player amongst European Leasing companies with cross-border activities."
For Bank Austria Creditanstalt the sale is a further step to dispose of its none-core activities. The proceeds will be invested in the further expansion of the network in Central and Eastern Europe region (CEE). There, BA-CA Leasing operates the leading network in 10 countries. Clients of BA-CA can still benefit from a special Austrian/CEE-desk in Italy, which offers 360 degree support, including export leasing.
Austrolease, based in the city of Bolzano in southern Tyrol, and Austria Finanza, situated in Treviso, are active in the highly industrialised north eastern part of Italy. Both companies achieved sustained growth on a stand-alone basis, reaching a diversified portfolio of EUR 500 million.
In future both companies will be integrated with the existing leasing subsidiary of Fortis in Milan, Fortis Lease Italia. With a combined staff of 52 employees, Austria Finanza and Austrolease are specialized in providing tailor-made solutions in comprehensive Equipment and Real Estate Leasing for a customer base of more than 2,500. Sales are generally effected through brokers or vendors (importers and producers of investment products), highlighting the potential for vendor leasing, one of Fortis Lease's strategic development axes. Northern Italian vendors are prime prospects for European Vendor Leasing, with annual export figures amounting to EUR 71 billion in equipment goods.
By adding a well diversified portfolio of EUR 500 million, or approximately 8% of its existing book, Fortis Lease's total assets will increase from EUR 6.4 billion to EUR 6.9 billion and its staff to 450 FTE's. According to Leaseurope*, Fortis Lease Group will solidify its strong position among the top five lessors with a European coverage strategy.
* European Federation of Leasing Company Associations
Fortis in Italy
Fortis Bank is active in Italy with Commercial Banking, Private Banking, Merchant Banking and Fortis Investments. Commercial Banking, which includes Leasing and Factoring activities, operates four Business Centres in Milan, Padova, Bologna and Turin, and will be opening a new centre in Florence at the beginning of March 2005. Private Banking is present through MeesPierson, with offices in Milan, Brescia and Arezzo. Merchant Banking is active in Milan with Corporate Banking, Global Project and Export Finance, Global Markets, Information Banking, Energy Services and Global Lending Security & Arbitrage (GSLA). The Fortis team in Italy totals 149 employees, including 55 professionals and account managers. Fortis Lease Italia in Milan opened in 2004. Its products cover all areas of the leasing business: equipment, real estate, cars and trucks for medium-sized companies and European vendors.
Fortis Lease
Fortis Lease is part of Fortis, an integrated financial services provider active in the fields of banking and insurance. With a market capitalisation of EUR 27.7 billion (28/02/2005) and around 52,000 employees, Fortis ranks in the top 20 European financial institutions. Fortis Lease is a financial leasing company specialized in leasing products such as private cars, company cars, machinery, forklift trucks, IT equipment and real estate. Fortis Lease currently operates in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Poland. Through its product expertise, knowledge of the international leasing market and international presence, Fortis Lease is able to meet the growing demand of its customers for European solutions. Fortis Lease Group is incorporated in Luxembourg as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banque Generale du Luxembourg.
Bank Austria Creditanstalt Leasing
Bank Austria Creditanstalt Leasing (BA-CA Leasing) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank Austria Creditanstalt Group. As a member of worldwide operating HVB Group, BA-CA still offers its corporate customers coming from or heading for North Italy a strong support in global foreign trade business. BA-CA is closely connected with HVB Italy and their operative branch in Milan. Customers benefit from a special Austrian/CEE-desk within the Milan branch, which offers 360 degree support, including export leasing.
BA-CA Leasing is among the leading leasing companies in Austria and throughout the Central and Eastern European area with subsidiaries in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. In 2003, BA-CA Leasing set a record with a new business volume of some EUR 1.9 billion. Its total assets amount to approximately EUR 5.5 billion.
Bank Austria Creditanstalt Group is a member of HVB Group. With total assets of approximately EUR 147 billion it is the biggest bank in Austria and leading bank in the growth region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). BA-CA serves more the 6 million customers in 12 countries and operates with its 29.000 employees about 1,400 offices.
Fortis Press Contacts: Brussels: +32 (0)2 565 35 84 Utrecht: +31 (0)30 226 32 19 Fortis Investor Relations: Brussels: +32 (0)2 510 53 91 Utrecht: +31 (0)30 226 32 20 Bank Austria Ceditanstalt Leasing Press Contacts: Alexander Schmidecker, General manager +43 (0)1 58808 ext. 3310 alexander.schmidecker@ba-ca-leasing.com
http://hugin.info/134212/R/983386/146392.pdf
-0-