- European banks are increasingly buying private equity-owned financial businesses, with 2025 deal value topping US$15bn, because trade sales are cleaner and faster than bank-to-bank mergers.
- ABN AMRO’s €960m purchase of Blackstone-owned NIBC shows the appeal: fewer stakeholders, quicker execution and less political resistance, albeit at a capital cost.
- Private equity is supplying targets as financial services/insurance reached ~20% of European PE exits in 2025, double the long-run average, amid weak IPO markets.
- By contrast, large, politically sensitive peer mergers (e.g., UniCredit-Banco BPM and BBVA-Sabadell) keep stalling, making PE-linked deals a pragmatic route to consolidation.
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The FT Lex piece “Europe’s banks turn to private equity for M&A without tears” highlights a growing shift in the European banking sector: instead of engulfing peer institutions—which often triggers political, regulatory, and public backlash—banks are increasingly acquiring targets previously owned by private equity (PE) firms. These trade sales offer smoother paths by dealing with fewer stakeholders, cleaner balance sheets, and clear exit motivations from sellers under pressure, while buyers benefit from well-defined due diligence and reduced risk around activism or national sentiment.
The fulcrum of this trend is illustrated by ABN AMRO’s acquisition of NIBC from Blackstone. The €960 million deal (≈ US$1.1 billion at the time) values NIBC at 0.85x book value and is expected to deliver around 18% ROIC by 2029. It reduces ABN AMRO’s CET1 ratio by about 70 bps upon completion. The target—NIBC—brings ~325,000 savings clients, ~200,000 mortgage clients, and ~175 corporate clients, expanding ABN AMRO’s scale in its domestic (Netherlands) and nearby markets (Belgium, Germany), particularly in mortgages and retail deposits.
On the exit side, Preqin data shows that financial services (including insurance) made up around 20% of all exits in Europe in 2025—a figure more than twice the decadal average. So despite weak IPO markets and sluggish exit volumes overall, the flow of PE-backed financial services businesses into bank ownership is compensating for exit fragility.
Yet the supply side remains constrained. There are relatively few private equity-backed banks and financial services firms of sufficient size to satisfy acquirers’ ambitions without triggering political concern. Among candidates: Hamburg Commercial Bank (Cerberus-backed), Evelyn Partners (considered around £2.5 billion), and Novo Banco (now fully owned by BPCE after its majority stake purchase from Lone Star).
Crucially, the trend contrasts with large peer mergers which continue to run into resistance. UniCredit’s proposed €10-15 billion bid for Banco BPM was dropped amid government golden power obstacles, BBVA’s bid for Sabadell met nationalistic opposition, and moves to merge or acquire national champions (Commerzbank, etc.) remain politically fraught. Thus, PE-deal flow is serving as an interim vehicle for consolidation—less transformative perhaps, but more viable under current regulatory and political constraints.
Strategic implications follow: banks that are well-capitalised and disciplined in integrating PE‐owned businesses can gain market share, margin, and diversification faster. Investors may begin rewarding institutions that accumulate scale via PE deals, given smoother risk profiles. On the flip side, sellers (PE firms) may face pricing challenges when dealing with banks, as seen with NIBC’s price at a discount to book value, and acquirers will need to manage capital dilution (ABN AMRO analyzed CET1 hit), brand integrations (e.g. ABN AMRO phasing out Moneyou), and regulatory approvals. In total, these dynamics suggest modest but accelerating consolidation in Europe’s banking sector, likely leading to larger deals once political winds change. Open questions remain around how many PE-backed targets are available, whether returns will actually hit projections, and how governments will respond to cross-border bank ownership once national sensitivities and macro risk rise.
Supporting Notes
- It is estimated that more than USD 15 billion of transactions in 2025 involved banks acquiring businesses that were formerly owned by private equity firms.
- The acquisition of NIBC by ABN AMRO from Blackstone is valued at about €960 million (≈ US$1.1 billion), with the purchase price being ~0.85× book value, expected ROIC ~18% by 2029, and a CET1 capital ratio impact of ~70 basis points.
- NIBC serves roughly 325,000 savings clients, 200,000 mortgage clients, and 175 corporate clients across its Northwestern European footprint.
- Financial services, including insurance, accounted for about 20% of total European private equity exits in 2025—more than twice their average share over the previous decade.
- Examples of PE-backed distressed banks include NIBC, which had been cleaned up after crisis exposure, and candidates such as Hamburg Commercial Bank and Evelyn Partners are being considered for sale.
- Contrastingly, large cross-border acquisitions like UniCredit-Banco BPM, BBVA-Sabadell, and proposals for Commerzbank have met strong governmental resistance or have failed altogether.