COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Norway’s government said on Thursday it will sell its 15% stake in Eksportfinans to Norwegian bank DNB.
The government will receive around 750 million crowns ($68.88 million) from the sale, it said in a statement.
Eksportfinans used to offer subsidised state financing for export companies but has not granted new loans since 2012 when the state set up another company for export crediting, the statement said.
Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Cecilie Myrseth, said there were no particular reasons why the government should own Eksportfinans.
“Our goal as owner is to maximise returns over time within a sustainable framework. A sale of our shares to DNB is the alternative that best contributes to this,” Myrseth, said.
($1 = 10.8883 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Essi Lehto)
