Tribunal de commerce francophone de Bruxelles – Patrinvest v. SA Ageas

In September 2012, Patripart NV, a former shareholder of former Belgian bank Fortis, and its parent company, Patrinvest SCA, brought an action for damages against Fortis successor Ageas SA/NV before the Brussels Commercial Court based on alleged incomplete and/or misleading information in Fortis's prospectus relating to its September 2007 capital increase. On February 1, 2016, the court ruled that the Fortis prospectus issued by the Fortis SA/NV (Bel) – Fortis NV (Holl) holding corporation gave a correct view of the state of affairs and risks relating to Fortis, in particular with regard to the acquisition of ABN Amro, the subprime portfolio, and its solvency and liquidity.

An Analysis Group team, led by Managing Principals Lisa Pinheiro and Marc Van Audenrode and Principal Jimmy Royer, prepared a report assessing the economic and financial context at the time of the publication of the prospectus. The court agreed with the report, noting that “Fortis [lawyers] also point to a report by financial and economic analysts, Finitude and Analysis Group, who examined many relevant indicators that reveal that after exhibiting some concern during August of 2007, the market for highly rated subprime RMBS stabilized until the end of 2007.”

The court's decision could still be appealed.