ING Plans $2 Billion Sale of Voya stock to quit funding in U.S. Insurer

ING Groep NV, the most important Dutch bank, stated it will promote its last 19 percent stake in Voya financial Inc., completing its slow-motion go out from its former U.S. insurance unit.

Voya will repurchase $six hundred million of its shares in connection with the presenting, in step with a announcement from the big apple-based totally insurer. The Dutch lender has acquired more than $6 billion for the eighty one percent of Voya that it bought in five transactions beginning with the preliminary public supplying in 2013. The very last sale of 45.6 million shares is worth approximately $2 billion based on Voya’s ultimate price of $44.08 in the big apple trading Tuesday.

“ING is gratifying their promises and they’re assembly the european fee’s necessities,” said Lemer Salah, an Amsterdam-based analyst at SNS Securities with a buy recommendation at the stocks. “It looks as if they’re completing the undertaking in their restructuring tale.”

ING acquired 10 billion euros ($eleven billion) in Dutch authorities aid after losses on U.S. mortgage-backed securities in return for a dedication to sell property. In November, it paid the very last installment on its bailout after selling its U.S. retail bank and spinning off insurance companies on both sides of the Atlantic.

ING shares had been little modified at 12.ninety six euros at 10:27 a.m in Amsterdam. The Stoxx Europe six hundred Banks Index changed into up zero.3 percent.

After the very last divestiture, Voya might also increase its quarterly charge of one cent a percentage to investors, Yaron Kinar, an analyst with Deutsche financial institution AG, stated in a Jan. 6 be aware to buyers.

“With the exit by the previous determine, the big-seller overhang is completely eliminated,” Kinar wrote. “We’d also expect the company to shift its capital deployment, distributing it among buybacks and dividends, thereby beginning to entice yield-orientated traders.”

Citigroup Inc. and bank of the usa Corp. are arranging the providing, Voya stated in a regulatory submitting.

Voya chief executive Officer Rod Martin, sixty two, has used the ING sales to repurchase his enterprise’s stock. Voya offered stocks valued at extra than $seven-hundred million in three transactions closing year.

Martin has additionally sought to unfastened up capital with the aid of exiting some policies that had been issued in prior years. Moody’s investors provider said Tuesday before the proportion-sale assertion that it lifted the insurer’s credit rating.

‘financial Flexibility’

“Voya’s persevering with improvement in its monetary profile, specially profitability and monetary flexibility,” led to the upgrade, the scores company said in a announcement.

ING raised more than $1.four billion via Voya’s IPO in can also 2013, selling stocks at $19.50. With four next sales of inventory, Amsterdam-based totally ING had reduced its retaining to 19 percent by final November.

ING, which as soon as had insurance operations from Brazil to Malaysia, is resuming dividend payments for the first time when you consider that 2008 after repaying the state rescue.