Dutch gov't raises €450 million selling shares of fmr. Fortis insurer ASR

The Dutch government made approximately 450 million euros by selling 20.4 million shares in former Fortis insurer ASR. The shares were sold for 22.15 euros each, NLFI announced on Friday, ANP reports.

The NLFI is the foundation that manages the Dutch government's shares in financial institutions.

With the sale of 20.4 million shares on Thursday, the government's share of ASR reduced from 63.7 percent to 50.1 percent. the government plans to further reduce its share in ASR, but has to wait at least 90 days before another transaction can happen.

ASR is made up of the insurance parts of Fortis Nederland. The insurance parts were nationalized in 2008 after Fortis collapsed. ASR was put on the stock market on June 10th last year.