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Fortis would consider sale of 'crown jewels'-paper

BRUSSELS
Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:02am EDT

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian-Dutch financial services group Fortis (FOR.BR)(FOR.AS) is considering for the first time the sell-off of even core activities to shore up its solvency, Belgian business daily De Tijd said on Friday.

"Crown jewels could be sold for the right price," De Tijd said, referring to what it said was a well-placed source.

Fortis said in June it had reviewed its portfolio of activities and identified a number of non-core assets which could be divested, resulting in a total solvency uplift of around 2 billion euros.

Chief Executive Herman Verwijlst told a Dutch newspaper on Saturday that Fortis might sell additional businesses as part of an 8 billion euros plan to bolster its finances.

"The difference between core and non-core activities is not scientific," Verwijlst said in the interview in De Telegraaf.

Fortis shares fell as much as 21 percent to 14-year lows in Amsterdam and Brussels on Thursday.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by David Cowell)


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