Appeal decision on purchases by KBC Ancora of KBC Group shares in 2007

Regulated information, inside information, Leuven, 9 April 2019 (after trading)

Appeal decision on purchases by KBC Ancora of KBC Group shares in 2007

The Brussels Court of Appeal dismisses minority claim against the statutory manager of KBC Ancora and Cera in its entirety.

On 5 December 2008, four KBC Ancora minority shareholders filed a minority claim against the statutory manager of KBC Ancora and its permanent representative and against Cera. The plaintiffs contested the purchase of 2.3 million KBC Group shares by KBC Ancora in March 2007, which was effected in the context of the splitting of the KBC Ancora shares. The plaintiffs also contested the purchase of 3.9 million KBC Group shares by KBC Ancora which was effected in mid-2007 in order to ensure that, together with Cera, its shareholding in KBC Group would exceed the 30% threshold as set out in the Law of 1 April 2007 on public take-over bids, which came into force on 1 September 2007. The main objective of their claim was to oblige the defendants to acquire the purchased shares at the acquisition price.

In a ruling of 24 October 2012, the Court of First Instance in Leuven dismissed the claims of the plaintiffs in their entirety.

On 13 March 2013, the plaintiffs lodged an appeal against this ruling. They also changed the object of their claim into a request to essentially award damages.

By judgment of 9 April 2019, the Brussels Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment of the Court of First Instance in Leuven, and dismissed the claims of the plaintiffs in their entirety.

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KBC Ancora is a listed company which holds 18.6% of the shares in KBC Group and which together with Cera, MRBB and the Other Permanent Shareholders is responsible for the shareholder stability and further development of the KBC group. As core shareholders of KBC Group, these parties have signed a shareholder agreement to this effect.

Financial calendar:

24 May 2019 (17.40 CEST)                 Announcement of amount and payment date of interim      dividend

30 August 2019                                    Annual press release for the financial year 2018/2019

24 September 2019 (17.40 CEST)      Annual Report 2018/2019 available

25 October 2019                                  General Meeting of Shareholders

This press release is available in Dutch, French and English on the website

KBC Ancora Investor Relations & Press contact: Jan Bergmans

Tel.: +32 (0)16 279672

E-mail: or

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