Blackstone acquires Nordea’s remaining shareholding in Luminor

With the purchase of 11.6% of Luminor Holding from Nordea, a consortium led by private equity funds managed by Blackstone now own 80% of Luminor Holding, the parent company of Luminor Bank.

In 2018, DNB Bank ASA (DNB) and Nordea Bank Abp (Nordea) entered into an agreement to sell 60.1% of their shareholding in Luminor Holding to a consortium led by private equity funds managed by Blackstone (Blackstone). DNB and Nordea each retained a 19.95% equity stake and Blackstone agreed to purchase Nordea’s remaining stake over the following years.

In December 2021, Blackstone acquired 8.4% of Luminor Holding from Nordea. Today, Blackstone announces that it has purchased Nordea’s remaining 11.6% interest. As a result of this transaction, Blackstone now owns 80.05% of Luminor Holding, and DNB will continue to own the remaining 19.95%.

Nils Melngailis, Chair of the Supervisory Councils of Luminor Bank and Luminor Holding, said: ‘I am very delighted about the strong support from Blackstone as evidenced by the increase of their investment in Luminor and look forward to continuing our partnership with them. I would also like to thank Nordea for sponsoring the creation of Luminor and support thereafter.

‘Our improving performance, solid financial standing and prudent risk management, means Luminor, under the executive leadership of Peter Bosek, is well placed to continue the positive momentum it has shown in recent years. This will allow us to expand our activities with individuals and companies across all three Baltic countries. I continue to be encouraged by our progress in realising our strategy and the dedication and resilience of the Luminor team in supporting our customers and the societies we serve.