Investors relieved at Fortis court ruling

Investors have reacted favourably to Friday’s appeal court ruling suspending asset sales of the Fortis financial group until shareholder approval is obtained. The Fortis Group ran out of money in October and was forced to sell most of its assets after losing investor confidence.

BNP Paribas agreed to buy a 75% stake in Fortis Bank, a deal that is now on hold. Some investors appeared relieved that they were going to have a say in the asset sales. “I think that the BNP take-over is one of the few possibilities to save Fortis,” an investor said.“We will have to wait and see.”
“We are afraid that most of our share value is lost. Maybe later our children will profit,” said another.
“Now the shareholders have a little bit more security and hopefully they’ll see their money back. They shouldn’t give up,” said a third investor.

The court ruling does not cancel any of the deals made by Fortis, but puts them on hold pending shareholder approval. The court ordered BNP Paribas to keep funding Fortis Bank until a resolution can be found.More about: Banking, Belgium

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