Icelandic bank Kaupthing is to acquire struggling Dutch merchant bank NIBC for EUR 3 bn. The announcement came as NIBC released annual figures confirming it had suffered a EUR 137 mln loss on its exposure to the sub-prime mortgage market in the US. NIBC is owned by a consortium led by J.C. Flowers & Co. As part of the takeover deal, NIBC's sub-prime portfolio will be sold for $528 mln (780 mln) to the Flowers group. The losses on sub-prime investments led to a drop in NIBC's profit to EUR 3 mln from EUR 190 mln in 2006.

Icelandic bank Kaupthing is to acquire struggling Dutch merchant bank NIBC for EUR 3 bn. The announcement came as NIBC released annual figures confirming it had suffered a EUR 137 mln loss on its exposure to the sub-prime mortgage market in the US. NIBC is owned by a consortium led by J.C. Flowers & Co. As part of the takeover deal, NIBC's sub-prime portfolio will be sold for $528 mln (780 mln) to the Flowers group. The losses on sub-prime investments led to a drop in NIBC's profit to EUR 3 mln from EUR 190 mln in 2006.

Commenting on the takeover, NIBC said in a statement: 'We are convinced that we have a prudent liquidity and solvency profile and a sound strategy and business model which will guide us through these challenging market conditions.'

Flowers bought NIBC from two Dutch pension funds a few years ago, and until the recent sub-prime crisis it had been steadily building up its reputation as a niche player in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and hotel financing. Kaupthing said these activities would continue unchanged.