KKR eyes stake in ING business
Private equity giant KKR & Co is eyeing a minority stake in ING’s US online bank, ING Direct USA, a source familiar with the situation said last night. General Electric and Capital One Financial are also understood to have submitted bids. ING was forced to split its insurance and bank operations and agreed to divest ING Direct USA by 2013 to obtain European Commission approval for €10bn (£8.9bn) of Dutch state aid received in 2008 during the financial crisis. The bank has said it would repay the remaining €3bn by May 2012.