AMSTERDAM - European services giant ING Group NV said Monday it will split itself, spinning off its insurance arm to simplify its business and issuing $11.3 billion in new shares to repay state bailout money.
The dramatic change in strategy caps a year of cutting costs and selling operations since the financial crisis struck, when ING was kept afloat only with two major rounds of assistance from the Dutch state.
The insurance operations have a book value of $32.7 billion. The company said it will likely seek an initial public offering for them within four years.
"This is a momentous day for us: splitting the bank and insurance is not a decision to be taken lightly," said Chief Executive Jan Hommen, a former board chairman who took the executive job in January after his predecessor was fired.
"We're making a decisive move to turn ourself into a simple organization."
ING spokesman Dana Ripley said the changes would not result in any layoffs in Minnesota. The Dutch company's U.S. insurance subsidiary employs about 900 people in the Twin Cities. They primarily sell life insurance policies to consumers and employee benefit products, such as group life insurance, to employers.
In January, ING laid off 100 people in the Twin Cities -- including 86 in Minneapolis and 14 in St. Cloud -- as part of a nationwide effort to reduce its U.S. workforce to 10,250 people from 11,000 people. The vast majority of those layoffs have already occurred, Ripley said.
"This announcement is about a refocused strategy and is not part of a layoff initiative," Ripley said.
