Nordea to purchase Norwegian Societe Generale

Finnish financial group Nordea has reached a deal with the French multinational investment bank Societe Genrale to acquire all shares in SG Finans, the Norwegian domiciled subsidiary of Societe Generale, for 575 million euros (639.6 million U.S. dollars), Nordea said in a statement on Thursday.

SG Finans, which has about 50,000 corporate customers, provides equipment finance and factoring solutions in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

The business of SG Finans will be combined with Nordea's pan-Nordic finance company after the acquisition.

"SG Finans runs a successful business with very satisfied customers in three of Nordea's four home markets. This acquisition strengthens our ability to advice and help small and medium-sized companies with their financial needs," said Frank Vang-Jensen, president and CEO of Nordea, in the statement.

Based in Helsinki, Finland, Nordea is an European financial services group, operating in both the Nordic and Baltic regions with over 1,400 branches.