According to a report from our Paperjam colleagues, group founder and chairman Liu Chuanzhi praised the work of bank president Luc Frieden and CEO Hugues Delcourt, saying “our goal is really to work in line with the 2020 strategy put in place by the current management.”

Legend Holdings owns, among other things, the Lenovo electronic goods brand, and boasts a turnover of €41 b. The companies it invests in employ 60,000 people and manage some €43.6 b in assets.

To obtain a 90%-stake in Bil, the investors offered €1.48 b to the Qatari group and former majority shareholder Precision Capital. The Luxembourg State retains a 10% stake. The Chinese are reportedly ready to inject new capital if required. Senior vice president of Legend Holdings Li Peng confirmed their commitment by saying that they were long-term shareholders.

Datavisualisation: Legend Holdings. Legend Holdings invests in Lenovo, among other things

Delcourt pointed out that the acquisition widens the prospect of accessing some of the 1.6 m high net worth individuals in China (people with a forturne of more than $1.5 m).

“Bil will now have easier access to this potential clientèle, but also to Chinese companies that would like to work in connection with Europe,” he said.

Frieden, meanwhile, pointed out that Bil would not become the “eighth Chinese bank in Luxembourg.”

“Legend Holdings’ investment is strategic. The Bil remains a universal bank in Luxembourg.”

Wednesday’s meeting in Luxembourg came a week after the European Central Bank greenlighted the acquisition and 10 months after the transaction was first announced.