BRUSSELS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Belgium's government will discuss on Monday the future of ailing Belgian bank Fortis with officials of French bank BNP Paribas, Finance Minister Didier Reynders said on Sunday.
Shareholders in Fortis Holding voted last week against the state-led deals that carved up the stricken financial group, delivering a potentially fatal blow to BNP Paribas's agreed purchase of a 75 percent stake of Fortis Bank and a stake in the Belgian insurance operations from Fortis Holding.
In reaction to the shareholder vote, BNP Paribas said the initial agreement, signed last October, remains legally binding until Feb. 28.
'Our priority is to bring all the players to a table, the Belgian state, BNP Paribas and the Fortis group represented by the board of directors and the administrator,' Reynders told the RTBF broadcaster. He added Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy would attend the meeting.
A Dutch daily reported on Saturday that Fortis Bank Belgium is considering a standalone scenario after the shareholders' vote.
(Writing by Marcin Grajewski; Editing by Hans Peters) Keywords: FORTIS/ (Brussels newsroom, tel +32-2-287-6830, fax +32-2-230-5573, e-mail: brussels.newsroom@reuters.com ($6.48 billion)) 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.
Shareholders in Fortis Holding voted last week against the state-led deals that carved up the stricken financial group, delivering a potentially fatal blow to BNP Paribas's agreed purchase of a 75 percent stake of Fortis Bank and a stake in the Belgian insurance operations from Fortis Holding.
In reaction to the shareholder vote, BNP Paribas said the initial agreement, signed last October, remains legally binding until Feb. 28.
'Our priority is to bring all the players to a table, the Belgian state, BNP Paribas and the Fortis group represented by the board of directors and the administrator,' Reynders told the RTBF broadcaster. He added Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy would attend the meeting.
A Dutch daily reported on Saturday that Fortis Bank Belgium is considering a standalone scenario after the shareholders' vote.
(Writing by Marcin Grajewski; Editing by Hans Peters) Keywords: FORTIS/ (Brussels newsroom, tel +32-2-287-6830, fax +32-2-230-5573, e-mail: brussels.newsroom@reuters.com ($6.48 billion)) 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.