The sale of Bank Degroof Petercam in Spain is accelerating, with at least four entities having submitted bids to acquire its local private banking and fund management business. The interested parties are Singular Bank (the new private bank led by Javier Marín and Warburg Pincus), Andbank, Banco Alcalá (part of the Crèdit Andorrà group), and Gala Capital, through its brand Beka Asset Management, according to market sources.
The Belgian bank, which manages approximately 1.3 billion euros in Spain with a staff of 60 private bankers, has recorded losses for five consecutive years. Degroof Petercam has commissioned Arcano to find a buyer for its Spanish subsidiary. The group operates four offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, and Bilbao, with much of its activity concentrated in Catalonia and the Levante region.
The international fund distribution business, managed by Degroof Petercam Asset Management, is excluded from the deal and will continue operating independently, focusing on large institutional investors.
The second round of the auction, with access to the virtual deal room, is expected to launch by the end of this week or early next week. Offers are around 30 million euros, although there is talk of a fifth interested party who may also have submitted a proposal.
Among the potential buyers, three already have acquisition experience: Javier Marín, through Singular Bank, aims to grow to become a leading independent private bank in Spain; Andbank has integrated businesses such as Inversis Banco and Merchbanc; Gala Capital is pushing its Beka Finance brand to boost its private banking project. Banco Alcalá, part of the Crèdit Andorrà group, is making its corporate deals debut with this potential purchase.
