SGBL to buy two banks
in France and Monaco

$183 million in combined equity

Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) said it has signed a deal with Luxembourg-based KBL European Private Bankers (KBL epb) to acquire two of its subsidiaries.

The subsidiaries are KBL Richelieu Banque Privée in France and KBL Monaco Private Bankers. The combined equity of these two subsidiaries stood at €154 million ($183 million) at the end of 2016, according to the annual report of the KBL epb group.

The move, which is part of SGBL's international development strategy, still requires the approval of regulators in Lebanon, France, Monaco, and Luxembourg. Once the approvals are given, the acquisition would be completed in the first half of 2018.

SGBL said in a statement that it plans to use the new acquisitions in France and Monaco as an international banking platform. SGBL will hold the acquired entities through a new fully-owned group to be called Compagnie Financière Richelieu. The entities and their divisions will be renamed Banque Richelieu France, Richelieu Gestion, and Banque Richelieu Monaco.

Georges Saghbini, Deputy General Manager of the SGBL group, said that Compagnie Financière Richelieu will continue to provide private banking and asset management services through its units and that SGBL may consider some changes in the future.

The SGBL group includes subsidiaries in Cyprus, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. With total assets of $19 billion at the end of 2016, SGBL is one of Lebanon’s five largest banks. It operates 90 branches with a workforce of more than 2,000 employees.

The KBL epb group provides private banking services in 50 cities across Europe. The group’s assets under management reached €51 billion ($60 billion) at the end of 2016.