French corporate and investment bank Natixis said that its parent company Banques Populaires and Caisses d’Epargne (BPCE) is looking to buy certain specialized finance businesses from it for a sum of €2.7bn.
Image: Headquarters of BPCE in Paris. Photo: courtesy of BPCE.
The businesses planned to be sold to BPCE through the transaction are consumer financing, factoring, leasing, sureties and guarantees, and securities services.
According to Natixis, the transaction is being undertaken to streamline its organization. In addition, the deal is also expected to address new customer usage and for better meeting of clients’ requirements throughout the BPCE networks.
The acquisition of the specialized finance businesses will not only bolster the universal banking model of BPCE but also give its clients a more coordinated product and service range and enhanced customer experience, said Natixis.
Overall, the intended sale will contribute significantly towards BPCE and Natixis’ goals as marked in their respective TEC 2020 and new dimension strategic plans.
BPCE management board chairman Laurent Mignon said: “This planned transaction would mark the start of a new step in Groupe BPCE’s transformation and take us closer to the goals outlined in our TEC 2020 strategic plan as well as in Natixis’ New Dimension plan.
“It would also help us more effectively address our customers’ needs across the Banques Populaires and Caisses d’Epargne networks, enhance the quality of our products and services, and continue transforming the business lines involved in the deal while also driving their growth.”
For Natixis, the deal should it be completed successfully, will enable it to speed up the development of its asset-light model. The sale will also enable it to invest a maximum of €2.5bn on its New Dimension plan, mainly in asset management, compared with the initially planned €1bn.
Natixis CEO François Riahi said: “This planned transaction would give Natixis further financial firepower to invest in its differentiating asset-light business lines – primarily asset management – and provide additional growth opportunities for the company.
“Today marks another milestone in Natixis’ development and demonstrates our ability to step up the roll-out of our New Dimension strategic plan. This proposed transaction would give Natixis’ balance sheet greater flexibility and make the company more responsive and agile in an ever more demanding market environment.”
Recently, Natixis announced the acquisition of UK-based credit specialist, MV Credit, in a move to expand its private debt capabilities.