Denmark’s Nordea, Norway’s DNB to sell stake in Latvia's Luminor for $1.16 bln

Danish lender Nordea and Norwegian financial services company DNB have agreed to sell a 60 percent stake in Latvian peer Luminor to U.S.-based private equity firm Blackstone consortium for 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) in cash.

While DNB plans to retain a stake of 20 percent in the venture, Nordea has entered into a forward sale agreement with Blackstone for its remaining 20 percent stake over the near to medium term.

The decision for Nordea to sell the shares in Luminor is pursuant to Nordea’s overall ambition to simplify and focus operations to the Nordic core markets and become an even better bank for its customers.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close during the first half of 2019.