ING announced today that it has closed the sale of its life insurance and wealth management venture in Australia and New Zealand to ANZ, its joint venture partner. As announced on 25 September, the divestment is part of ING's Back to Basics strategy to simplify the organisation by focusing on fewer, strong franchises that form a coherent group.

Under the terms of the agreement, ING sold its 51% equity stakes in ING Australia and ING New Zealand to ANZ, who now has become the sole owner of these businesses. In line with the announcement of 25 September, ING has received EUR 1.1 billion in cash from ANZ. The transaction has generated a net profit for ING of EUR 325 million. The sale will reduce the ING Insurance debt/equity ratio by 365 basis points. The transaction has freed up EUR 950 million of capital. These final terms are slightly better than the preliminary results as disclosed on 25 September.

After the sale, ING will maintain a strong footprint in Asia in life insurance and retirement services as the third largest international insurance company in the region. As previously announced, the transaction does not impact ING Direct, ING Investment Management, ING Wholesale Banking and ING Real Estate, who will remain active in Australia.