We observe that DNB Bank's announced 100% acquisition of Eksportfinans is nearing transaction close now that most of the required regulatory and shareholder approvals have been received. Furthermore, we expect the Norwegian Parliament's (Stortinget's) approval to divest the central government's 15% stake in Eksportfinans to be largely a formality, removing the final hurdle for DNB's full acquisition of the entity, which could be as early as June 2025. As a result, we have placed our 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term issuer credit ratings on Eksportfinans on CreditWatch with positive implications, reflecting the possibility that we could raise the long-term issuer rating on Eksportfinans--potentially by more than one notch--following the completed acquisition. We expect to resolve the CreditWatch listing when the
