The Dutch financial services company ING Groep is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) of its U.S. based insurance business.
The company agreed to split its banking and insurance businesses when it gained approval from the European Commission to receive government funds during the financial crisis.
ING has spent considerable time and resources addressing issues related to its U.S. variable annuity business, and the company feels that these efforts are almost complete with the business positioned well for the IPO.
The IPO is planned for 2012 but may take place in the fourth quarter of 2011 if market conditions are favorable.
The company CEO also mentioned that there is a possibility of 2 separate IPOs--one in the U.S. and one in Europe:
“While the option of one IPO remains open, we are going to prepare ourselves for a base case of two IPOs for our insurance businesses: one Europe-led IPO with solid cash flow combined with strong growth positions in developing markets, and one separate U.S.-focused IPO with a leading franchise in retirement services,” Hommen said in a statement.
Source: Bloomberg
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