Fortis, the Belgian/Dutch financial services company, has made a 4.1 billion ($3.6 billion) bid for the Netherlands based insurance company ASR, in which it already has a shareholding of just under 21%.
Fortis has offered three shares in the Amsterdam listed Fortis (NL) together with 3.70 cash. It intends to issue new equity but, in a balancing move, will buy back up to 33 million of its own shares from the market.
ASR was created in 1997 from the merger of Stad Rotterdam and Amersvoortse. It is reported to be taking a positive view of the bid. Fortis sees the proposed acquisition of ASR as a means of extending and developing its product range and improving its relationship with financial intermediaries who are the source of nearly two thirds of all insurance business in the Netherlands. It also expects the deal to result in overall savings of 120 million per year by 2004 when synergies and economies of scale are taken into account.
