Fortis Lease Group acquires Captive Finance Limited, thereby gaining a noteworthy presence in seven new countries in Europe and Asia

Captive Finance is a well-established, independent finance company specialised in vendor lease financing with strong positions in the technology sector.  It has developed a unique concept focussing on managing the entire equipment life cycle, from financing to remarketing. The company has a workforce of 58 FTEs.

 

Philippe Delva, CEO of Fortis Lease Group comments: "Captive Finance is different from a traditional leasing company. Besides giving us access to seven new countries - each with tremendous growth potential - it has strong remarketing capabilities for the leased equipment."

Bengt Sjoberg, Chairman of Captive Finance comments: "Fortis Lease Group will allow Captive Finance to broaden the current scope of its business beyond the technology sector.  We also gain access to a wealth of knowledge generated through Fortis Lease Group's integrated, pan-European network of lease companies.  By joining forces with Fortis Lease Group, we can extend our value chain and enlarge our product offering."

 

Philippe Delva continues: "After the acquisition of Global Leasing last month in Romania, this transaction marks another major step in the roll-out of our international network in regions which are key to Fortis, where we have already established a presence and have strong cross-selling ambitions with our network of Business Centres."

This acquisition will have no material impact on Fortis's solvency or net profit per share in 2006 and is expected to meet Fortis's investment criteria. It is subject to the approval of the Luxembourg and Norwegian regulatory authorities.

 

Fortis is an international financial services provider engaged in banking and insurance. We offer our personal, business and institutional customers a comprehensive package of products and services through our own channels, in collaboration with intermediaries and through other distribution partners.

With a market capitalisation of EUR 42.1 billion (31/12/2006), Fortis ranks among the 20 largest financial institutions in Europe. Our sound solvency position, our presence in 50 countries and our dedicated, professional workforce of 59,000 enable us to combine global strength with local flexibility and provide our clients with optimum support. More information is available on www.fortis.com

Fortis Lease Group, headquartered in Luxembourg, ranks among the top five European cross-border leasing companies. The company's strength lies in the cooperation between banking and leasing within Fortis, which includes the possibility of offering European-wide vendor solutions to equipment sellers. With European Vendor Leasing (EVL), we have made a unique selling proposition of the fact that we offer a framework agreement throughout Europe.

Fortis Lease Group currently operates in 15 countries, offering tailor-made leasing solutions to internationally active medium-sized and large companies. We are currently present in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Romania and the UK.  Our products are specifically adapted to meet the needs of the pan-European market. A dedicated Fortis Lease Group account manager is based in most of the Fortis Bank Business Centres.

Fortis Lease Group employs 749 enthusiastic men and women full time. Born of the merger between European leasing companies, the group started its full international expansion in 2000 by means of acquisitions and new local start-ups. This growth strategy turned Fortis Lease Group into a major European leasing provider with a portfolio of EUR 8.1 billion. In 2005 the group wrote new contracts totalling EUR 4.9 billion. In October 2006 we reached a portfolio of EUR 10 billion.

 

 

Press Office:
Brussels:	+32 2 565 35 84	Utrecht:	+31 30 226 32 19
Investor Relations:
Brussels:	+32 2 565 53 78	Utrecht:	+31 30 226 32 20