ING has agreed to sell its 50 per cent stake in ING Summit Industrial Fund, a Canadian light industrial property portfolio, to a joint venture between KingSett Capital and Alberta Investment Management.

The transaction value for 100 per cent of Summit is approximately CAD2.0bn and includes assumed debt.

In addition to its direct investment in Summit, ING has an indirect participation through its 7.8 per cent unit holding of ING Industrial Fund, an ING-managed listed property fund in Australia which owns the remaining 50 per cent in Summit.

As part of the transaction, ING Industrial Fund has agreed to simultaneously sell its stake in Summit to KingSett and Alberta. Consequently, ING's indirect participation in Summit will end as well.

Separately, ING has agreed to sell ING Real Estate Canada, the manager of Summit, to KingSett and Alberta for an undisclosed amount.

"As we focus on improving the performance of the banking and insurance businesses, managing risk and our business portfolio remain important priorities," says Jan Hommen, chief executive of ING Group. "This transaction is in line with ING's stated objective of reducing its exposure to the real estate industry."

The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on ING Group's results and capital ratios and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory approvals.

The transaction will not affect the earlier announced evaluation of the position of ING Real Estate Investment Management within the bank.