In another move toward divesting its U.S. holdings, ING Group has filed an amended S1 registration that would reduce its stake in ING U.S. from 71% to 60%. As part of a deal with the Dutch government after it received money during the financial crisis, ING agreed to divest all of its U.S. properties, including the U.S. retirement and asset management division. ING has been granted additional time to complete the divestiture, which was originally slated to be completed by the end of this year.
A leader in the U.S. DC retirement market, the U.S. company will be rebranded as “Voya” by May 2014. The current stock price is over $30, up considerably from the May 2013 IPO price of under $20 per share. The stock price peaked at $32 in early August and has hovered between $28-$32 per share since then. The IPO preserved the independence of the company — avoiding a sale to a competitor, which would have caused significant client turmoil.
