Finnish Sampo may boost Nordea stake even in 2009

Finnish insurer Sampo (HEL:SAMAS) may boost its holding in Sweden-based Nordea Bank (STO:NDA) already in 2009, the Finnish group's board chairman Bjorn Wahlroos told Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) on Tuesday.Sampo, which is Nordea's largest shareholder with a total 802.8 million shares, or 19.9%, at the end of October 2009, has intentions to further raise its interest in the bank. The insurerÂÂ already ÂÂ has a licence from the Swedish financial watchdog, Finansinspektionen, to increase its stake to above 20%. Wahlroos however said that Sampo does not plan to exceed the 25% threshold.The Finnish company has invested a total of SEK53.2bn (USD7.7m/EUR5.1m) in Nordea so far, according to Swedish business daily Dagens Industri (DI).Nordea's second largest shareholder is the Swedish state with 19.8%.Country: SwedenSector: Banking/Financial ServicesTarget: Nordea Bank ABBuyer: Sampo OyjType: StakebuildingStatus: BiddingComment: Sampo may start increasing holding in Nordea already in 2009((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected]))