Belgo-Dutch bank Fortis has taken over Edinburgh funds house Artemis, increasing its majority shareholding to make it the sole owner of group. However, the troubled bank is expected to sell the UK-based asset manager to a third party within months.

Fortis, which owned 67.1% of Artemis, paid €397m (£317m) for the rest of the business, according to a statement published today. The rest of the stock was held by Artemis management and an investment trust managed by Artemis. The deal values Artemis at €1.2bn.