After Exiting Capital Controls, Iceland Still Wary of Private Investors
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A branch of Kaupthing bank in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2008, the year the lender went bust. On Sunday, it said it had sold a 30 percent stake in its “good bank,” Arion, to hedge funds including Och-Ziff.CreditOlivier Morin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Iceland and Greece are rare examples of European countries experimenting with capital controls. Their approach to wooing back private investors is somewhat different. Iceland, which ended eight years of controls last week, seems altogether less starry-eyed.
Kaupthing, one of Iceland’s lenders that went bust in 2008, said on Sunday that it had sold a 30 percent stake in its so-called good bank, Arion, to hedge funds including Och-Ziff, as well as Goldman Sachs. The buyers have been given sweeteners to invest. After paying 48.8 billion kronur ($450 million) for their new stake, they get the option to buy an additional 21.9 percent at an undisclosed, higher price. The hedge funds and Goldman already own a big chunk of Kaupthing…
After Exiting Capital Controls, Iceland Still Wary of Private Investors
