Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands, bought one-third of the new shares issued by Fortis last week, ABP spokesman Thijs Steger confirmed. The purchase increased the €220 billion ($346 billion) pension fund’s stake to 2.5%, Mr. Steger said in an e-mail response. The fund previously reported a stake of 0.3% as of Dec. 31.
“From a long-term perspective, ABP considered it an opportunity to acquire a stake in Fortis at the offered price level,” Mr. Steger added.
On June 26, Fortis had offered 150 million new shares at about a 21% discount in relation to the previous day’s closing price of €12.65 per share. The issuance raised €1.5 billion as part of the company’s efforts to shore up its capital base following the U.S. subprime crisis and related credit crunch.
