ICA Ahold and AEGON The Netherlands expect to conclude negotiations on a 50/50 joint venture in the ICA Ahold subsidiary ICA Banken (based in Solna, Sweden), for the provision of financial services through ICA Ahold´´s retail network outlets initially in Sweden.
AEGON intends to acquire a 50% stake in ICA Banken, a subsidiary of ICA Ahold, launched last year, which offers financial services to ICA Ahold customers in Sweden. AEGON and ICA Ahold, the leading food retail group in Scandinavia, and a 50% subsidiary of Koninklijke Ahold NV, plan to accelerate the development of ICA Banken and expand the range of products and services provided.
ICA Ahold successfully entered the financial services market in Sweden over the past decade, offering a limited number of saving and credit products to its one million financial services customers. AEGON will contribute its global financial services expertise, including the experience gained in its AH-Geldzaken joint venture with Albert Heijn, an Ahold subsidiary in The Netherlands. AH-Geldzaken has attracted more than 260,000 customers for its saving product since March 2001.
(source: Ahold)
