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ABN Amro Acquires Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe for €672 Million, Expanding German Wealth Management Presence

Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe (HAL), the German private bank that specializes in managing wealth of high networth individuals, has been acquired by its Dutch peer ABN Amro, which has declared the deal of acquisitions of cost €672 million ( $730 million).

By Business OutstandersPUBLISHED: May 28, 20:36UPDATED: May 28, 20:39
ABM Ambro
Image Credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS

The acquisition should benefit ABN Amro particularly as it is interested in expanding scale and power in Germany, considered as the biggest private banking market in the EU. The transaction is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2025; following it, ABN Amro will enhance AUM by €26 billion and via operating rental credit by €2 billion. Another factor is the Areas of Their Exclusivity Agreement which means that some of HAL’s operating facilities will not be affected by the acquisition; specifically, the investment fund management department and the fund administration department.

ABN Amro CEO Robert Swaak further stated that it adds strategic value to the company citing that it creates an opportunity to triple their size in Germany and offer new employment to the workers due to the consolidating market environment.

The Chinese conglomerate Fosun International is selling HAL to cut its operation and debt, and the assets it is selling focus on IT services. This sale is part of Fosun’s plans to increase capital for general working capital needs, as the company has made other large transactions this year including the October sale of a 9 percent stake in Belgian insurance group Ageas for €730m to BNP Paribas. Moreover, Fosun plans to sell its luxurious Atlantis, a resort in the Greater Bay Area in southern China, which is expected to generate profit this year; and a partial disposal of the remaining 20%-interest in Portugal’s Millennium bcp, after Fosun trimmed its stake in that banking group earlier in the year.

Group with a broad range of the interrelated companies in the field of healthcare, tourism, pharmaceuticals, energy and others ,Fosun acquired HAL in 2016. The divestiture of HAL is another indication of Fosun’s ongoing portfolio management strategy and its latest financial restructuring within the larger macroeconomic environment.