By Elena Vardon
BNP Paribas's stake increase in Ageas to more than 15% is boosting the insurer's shares, making it the best performer of Belgium's blue-chip index.
Shares in Ageas rose more than 3% in morning trading on Wednesday to around 52.25 euros to hit their highest price since mid-2021 while the BEL 20 edged up 0.15%.
The French bank--already the insurer's largest shareholder--increased its stake in Ageas to 15.07% last week, according to a transparency notification published late Tuesday. The shareholding is worth 1.44 billion euros ($1.50 billion) based on Ageas's closing price of 50.7 euros on Tuesday.
The stake increase explains why shares have been rising over the past month, ING analyst Jason Kalamboussis said in a research note to clients. "This is an unexpected move that is likely to fuel speculation of a BNP Paribas eventual takeover approach," he wrote.
BNP Paribas last year bought a 9% stake in the insurer from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International for 730 million euros via its insurance subsidiary BNP Paribas Cardif.
Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 19, 2025 04:52 ET (09:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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