Dexia agrees sale of fund unit for €380m

Finally Dexia has sold its asset management arm although for much less than originally indicated. The buyer, GCS Capital, interestingly is tightly linked to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (“ICBC”), so GCS' own press release. ICBC has quite a history and has been looking to tap into various acquisition opportunities throughout recent years not only in Europe.

Seems major acquisitions of asset management units are still possible in Western Europe; possibly a relief for those who tried and failed over the last two years...