BNP Paribas subsidiary Cortal today signed an agreement with SchmidtBank, majority shareholder of Consors, to acquire SchmidtBank’s 66.43% equity interest in Consors for EUR 287 million. A public offer will be made to purchase the remaining equity interests in Consors. Assuming purchase of the entire share capital and in accordance with German regulations for takeover bids, the total price will be EUR485 million or EUR 857 per account. The acquisition is subject to approval by the German banking authorities.
The acquisition and integration of the two brokers will create a Franco-German private client broker with 1.2 million customers and EUR14 billion of assets under management. Cortal, which has been profitable each year since 1989, is market leader in France while Consors, established in 1994, is the second largest broker in Germany.
The new company will operate under a single brand, which has yet to be decided. Until a new name is chosen, the group will be known as CortalConsors.