FX.co ★ China’s Legend buys Luxembourg’s oldest private bank

China’s Legend Holdings bought almost a 90% stake in Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL).

Legend Holdings, the owner of PC maker Lenovo Group, paid a total 1.534 billion euros ($1.79 billion) to acquire an 89.936% stake in 161-year-old BIL. Luxembourg’s government owns the rest 9.993%. Other minority shareholders hold only 0.071% equity.

Following the acquisition, the company’s asset structure is expected to be optimized. The bank’s assets will account for 35% of the total assets of Legend Holdings, while dominant Lenovo's shares in the company will fall from 54% to 33%.

The existing governance structure and management team of the bank will remain the same.

As of the end of 2017, BIL had total assets of 23.8 billion euros, and its net income after tax in 2017 was 117 million euros.

In May, Hang Seng Indexes Company removed Lenovo Group Ltd from its benchmark Hang Seng Index, citing a sharp fall in its shares.