ING Sets Price of Insurance Unit at $9.5B

ING Group NV says it has set a pricing range for the sale of its European insurance arm that indicates the business is worth roughly 7 billion euros ($9.5 billion).

ING is separating its banking and insurance units as part of a deal with the European Union to compensate for having taken state aid to survive the financial crisis of 2008.

The company said Monday it will sell 70 million shares in the business, or a 20 percent stake, at 18.50-22.00 euros each, raising around 1.4 billion euros.

NN Group will begin trading on the Euronext stock exchange July 2 after a final price is set. ING must sell the remaining shares by the end of 2016.

The proceeds will go to cut debt.