ING Groep (NYSE:) in Capital One (NYSE:) for about $3 billion.
The Dutch banking giant acquired the 9% stake in Capital One in February as part of its $9 billion sale of ING Direct USA to the U.S. bank. The purchase of ING Direct vaulted Capital One past rivals TD Bank (NYSE:) and PNC (NYSE:) to become the fifth largest bank in the U.S. with more than $200 billion in deposits, the New York Times
noted.
In addition to cash payments, ING received $2.8 billion in Capital One shares under the purchase agreement. It says that it will realize a profit of $378 million once its sells its 54 million Capital One shares.
Shares of ING Group rose almost 2% in Wednesday morning trading in New York, while Capital One shares dipped by about 1%.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:), Citigroup (NYSE:) and Bank of America (NYSE:) will serve as bookrunners in the sale of the Capital One shares, which is expected to close next week.
ING is looking to boost its Tier 1 ratio to 11.9%. The Dutch group has been under pressure from European regulators to increase its reserves against potential financial turmoil. The bank received $12.5 billion in support from the Dutch government in 2008.
In order to bolster its reserves, and limited exposure, ING has sold a number of assets, including its online banking operations in the U.S. and Canada and its insurance unit in Asia.
