Belgian court rejects bid to suspend BNP Paribas buyout of Fortis

BRUSSELS: A Belgian court on Tuesday rejected a bid by Fortis shareholders to suspend the sale of the bank's Belgian activities to BNP Paribas, while ordering an enquiry into whether the sale price was high enough.

Ahead of the court ruling, trading in shares in Fortis bank was suspended on the Belgian and Dutch stock markets after the shares in the former Belgian-Dutch banking group plunged to 0.66 cents.

The company's shares were trading at about 30 euros in July 2007 before it became embroiled in the US-born bad loan crisis.

Small shareholders groups had brought the case to the Brussels trade court questioning the validity of last month's buyout, which was part of a broader deal organised to rescue the ailing bank.

Head judge Francine De Tandt ruled that the shareholders' complaint was admissible but solely based on price, hence the decision to set up an expert panel to look into that aspect of the deal.

She said that a suspension of the sale or asking a shareholders' meeting to validate it could jeopardise the whole deal and thus the survival of Fortis in any form.

Mischael Modrikanem, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, swiftly announced their intention to appeal the ruling.