Saxo Bank Announces New Shareholder

HELLERUP, Denmark, August 25, 2011 -

Saxo Bank is pleased to announce that TPG Capital, one of the world’s leading investment firms, will become a major shareholder in Saxo Bank. Following a purchase agreement signed yesterday, a TPG Capital affiliate will acquire a 30% stake in the Company (along with an option to increase its stake to 40%) from existing investors, including General Atlantic, a global growth investor and Banco Espirito Santo, a leading Portuguese bank, amongst others. The founders, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen will retain majority ownership and continue in their roles as CEOs, also in the event that TPG Capital exercises its option to acquire 40%. TPG Capital’s investment is subject to customary regulatory and competition authority approvals.

General Atlantic invested in Saxo Bank in 2005 and both Espirito Santo Financial Group and Banco Espirito Santo invested in Saxo Bank in 2008. Banco Espirito Santo will continue to build the commercial cooperation that the bank has had with Saxo Bank since 2008, namely through Banco BEST that is owned by both entities.

Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, founders, CEOs and majority shareholders in Saxo Bank, said in a joint statement:

“We are delighted to welcome one of the world’s leading investment firms as a major shareholder and business partner. This new phase in Saxo Bank’s growth stems from the strong foundation built with the support from our selling shareholders, who have shared in our success to date.  We remain enthusiastic about Saxo Bank’s future and look forward to working with TPG Capital to capitalise on the many opportunities ahead.”

Asiff Hirji, Partner at TPG Capital, said:

“Saxo Bank has achieved impressive growth and we look forward to supporting the future diversification strategy. TPG Capital has a strong track record of investing in and growing financial services businesses, particularly those seeking further expansion in emerging markets, where we see tremendous opportunities for Saxo Bank.  We look forward to working with its two founders and CEOs.”

Bill Ford, CEO of General Atlantic, and Ricardo Salgado, CEO of Banco Espirito, said in a joint statement:  

“We have been pleased with our partnership with Saxo Bank over the last several years and consider this a very successful investment.”

About TPG Capital

TPG Capital is the global buyout group of TPG, a leading private investment firm founded in 1992, with $48 billion of assets under management and offices in Beijing, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.  TPG Capital has deep global financial services expertise with investments that have included Bank Thai, BTPN, Fidelity National Information Services, Korea First Bank, LPL Financial Services, Shenzhen Development Bank, Shriram City Union Finance and Taishin Holdings, among others.  The Firm also has extensive technology experience with investments that have included Aptina, Hotwire, Intergraph, Lenovo, MEMC, Sabre Holdings, Seagate, SunGard, and Vertafore, among others.

About Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. Saxo Asset Management accommodates high-net worth private clients and institutional investors. In 2011 Saxo Bank continued the diversification of its business and launched Saxo Privatbank. The Saxo Bank Group is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices throughout Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Australia.

Media enquiries: Kasper Elbjørn, Head of Group Public Relations, +45-3065-4300, press at saxobank.com