ABN Amro lists on Amsterdam Stock Exchange seven years after bailout
Dutch lender ABN Amro made its debut on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange on Friday after raising €3.3bn (£2.3bn), seven years after it was bailed out by the state.
Shares in the lender were listed at an individual price of €18.18 each, up 2.39% from an initial public offer price (IPO) of €17.75, in one of the biggest IPOs by a European bank since the financial crisis of 2008.
Seven years ago, the Dutch government was forced to rescue the lender’s operations and that of would-be acquirer Fortis in a €24bn bailout deal.
At the IPO price lender was valued at approximately €16.7bn and the Dutch government will sell 20% in the privatisation, 23% including an over-allotment option, which means it will recoup only a part of the bailout money.
ABN, which now makes 80% of its profit in the Netherlands after undergoing a restructuring in the wake of its state bailout, reported a 13% year-on-year increase in third quarter earnings to €509m earlier this month.