Warburg Pincus agrees to sell Singular Bank stake to ING-led group

Warburg Pincus has agreed to sell its holding in Singular Bank to a consortium led by ING, according to PE Hub. Singular Bank had €19.5 billion in assets under management as of June 30, PE Hub reported, making the transaction a private equity exit from a sizeable wealth-management platform.

The buyer group includes ING, Actinver, ProA Capital, the Bhavnani family, the Ruiz Lafita family and the Comenge family, according to PE Hub. No sale price, stake size or expected closing timetable was disclosed in the information reported by PE Hub.

Warburg Pincus first invested in Singular Bank in 2019, PE Hub reported. The agreed sale would mark the firm’s exit from that investment after a holding period of roughly six years, subject to the terms and completion of the transaction.

Consortium structure

A consortium acquisition brings several buyers into a single transaction, typically allowing strategic and financial investors to combine capital, governance rights and sector expertise. In this case, PE Hub identified ING as the lead buyer and listed Actinver, ProA Capital and three family investors as members of the group.

ING is described by PE Hub as a global bank. The inclusion of both institutional and family buyers means the ownership change, if completed, would transfer Warburg Pincus’s stake to a broader investor group rather than to a single purchaser, based on the reported buyer list.

Private equity exits can take several forms, including sales to strategic buyers, sales to other financial sponsors or public-market offerings. The transaction reported by PE Hub is a sale to a consortium, which allows the selling investor to dispose of its position through a negotiated transfer of shares.

Scale of the asset

Assets under management measure the client assets supervised or managed by a financial institution. PE Hub reported that Singular Bank’s assets under management stood at €19.5 billion on June 30. That figure gives investors and counterparties a measure of the platform’s scale, though it is separate from revenue, profit or valuation.

PE Hub did not report additional financial terms for the deal. Without a disclosed valuation, the implied return for Warburg Pincus and the price paid by the consortium cannot be determined from the public details cited in the report.

The agreement adds to private equity exit activity in financial services, a sector where wealth and banking platforms can attract strategic banks, specialist investors and long-term family capital. The reported transaction remains defined by the limited disclosed terms: Warburg Pincus is selling its stake, ING is leading the buying group, and Singular Bank reported €19.5 billion in assets under management as of June 30.

This story draws on original reporting from PE Hub.