Banque Accord gobbles up Egg’s French business

LONDON, Oct 22 (AFP) – Egg, the Internet bank majority-owned by British insurer Prudential, said Friday it had agreed to sell its French unsecured lending business to Banque Arnold for up to EUR 140 million (USD 177 million) in cash.

The exact price tag will depend on the value of the portfolio at the time of completion and potential costs that may be assumed by the buyer, Egg said in a statement.

The sale is expected to transfer to Banque Accord 66,000 unsecured lending customers and net assets which today total approximately EUR 205 million.

It will therefore lead to a loss on disposal based on the current portfolio valuation of EUR 65 million euros, which will be charged to the exit costs provision.

Egg announced in July that it had decided to close or sell its loss-making French operations in an effort to make the overall business profitable.

A month later Prudential said it had decided against selling its 79-percent stake in Egg and had ended talks with potential buyers.

Prudential, which set up Egg in 1998, had been trying to sell the stake since January.

© AFP

Subject: French News