By Anne Jolis
BRUSSELS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Dutch-speaking shareholders in Belgian-based Fortis plan to file a lawsuit against the Belgian government over its handling of the carve-up of the troubled financial services group.
The shareholders, who number roughly 300, are also considering a case against the Dutch government, their lawyer Geert Lenssens told Reuters on Wednesday.
The suit is similar to that being brought in French by lawyer Mischael Modrikamen in Brussels on behalf of some 2,300 Fortis investors. They succeeded in freezing the carve-up and now want to annul the deals or win compensation.
The Dutch-speaking group are not seeking to block the break-up, but only want compensation, arguing the governments underpaid for Fortis assets.
'We say the governments bought parts of the Fortis Group at conditions which were not at arm's length, which were below the real value of the assets,' said Lenssens, adding it was important investors could go to court in their mother tongue.
A representative of the Dutch government declined to respond and a representative of the Belgian government was not immediately available to comment.
Fortis was carved up by the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments in October, with BNP Paribas buying the Belgian operations after an 11.2 billion euro ($14.5 billion) cash injection failed to calm investor concerns.
However, an appeals court in Brussels ruled last month that these deals should be frozen and shareholders must be given a say.
Lenssens said his clients must wait for court-appointed experts to release a report by early February on the deals before they can attach a value to the damages they demand.
The case against the Belgian state also charges that it discriminated against Fortis by offering a guarantee to rival Dexia without having earlier offered one to Fortis.
'A state guarantee would have made a huge difference,' said Lenssens.
(Additional reporting by Gilbert Kreijger in Amsterdam; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=.7705 Euro) Keywords: FORTIS/LAWSUIT (anne.jolis@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 287 6811; Reuters Messaging: anne.jolis.reuters.com@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
BRUSSELS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Dutch-speaking shareholders in Belgian-based Fortis plan to file a lawsuit against the Belgian government over its handling of the carve-up of the troubled financial services group.
The shareholders, who number roughly 300, are also considering a case against the Dutch government, their lawyer Geert Lenssens told Reuters on Wednesday.
The suit is similar to that being brought in French by lawyer Mischael Modrikamen in Brussels on behalf of some 2,300 Fortis investors. They succeeded in freezing the carve-up and now want to annul the deals or win compensation.
The Dutch-speaking group are not seeking to block the break-up, but only want compensation, arguing the governments underpaid for Fortis assets.
'We say the governments bought parts of the Fortis Group at conditions which were not at arm's length, which were below the real value of the assets,' said Lenssens, adding it was important investors could go to court in their mother tongue.
A representative of the Dutch government declined to respond and a representative of the Belgian government was not immediately available to comment.
Fortis was carved up by the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments in October, with BNP Paribas buying the Belgian operations after an 11.2 billion euro ($14.5 billion) cash injection failed to calm investor concerns.
However, an appeals court in Brussels ruled last month that these deals should be frozen and shareholders must be given a say.
Lenssens said his clients must wait for court-appointed experts to release a report by early February on the deals before they can attach a value to the damages they demand.
The case against the Belgian state also charges that it discriminated against Fortis by offering a guarantee to rival Dexia without having earlier offered one to Fortis.
'A state guarantee would have made a huge difference,' said Lenssens.
(Additional reporting by Gilbert Kreijger in Amsterdam; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=.7705 Euro) Keywords: FORTIS/LAWSUIT (anne.jolis@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 287 6811; Reuters Messaging: anne.jolis.reuters.com@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.