Aquiline Buys into BinckBank

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) — U.S. private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners LLC has bought a 5.1 percent stake in Dutch equities trader BinckBank N.V. (BINCK), it said on Tuesday.

“The recent acquisition of Alex Beleggersbank, the former online brokerage subsidiary of Rabobank, has transformed BinckBank into the market leader for online banking for investors in the Netherlands, ranking it among the most profitable in all of Europe,” Geoffrey Kalish of Aquiline said in a statement.

BinckBank shares rose 3 percent in Amsterdam to 8.49 euros by 0745 GMT, a two-month high. Softer profit figures and a rights issue had nearly halved the value of the company's shares between November and January.

Investors in Dutch companies are required to report holdings of over 5 percent.

BinckBank, which started operations in Belgium two years ago, operates as an Internet broker for private investors and provides banking services and securities order execution for asset managers and stockbrokers.

BinckBank also has a banking licence, but its retail focus is mainly on investors in the stock market. Chief Executive Thierry Schaap has not ruled out offering banking products, but has said the company would focus on expanding its online brokerage operations at home and abroad. (Reporting by Reed Stevenson, editing by Will Waterman)