White & Case has advised Sberbank CZ insolvency trustee Jirina Luzova on the CZK 41 billion sale of Sberbank CZ’s assets to Ceska Sporitelna. Skils advised the buyer.
The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.
"The sale is a culmination of complex liquidation and insolvency proceedings that would satisfy all or the vast majority of registered claims of Sberbank CZ’s creditors and ensure an orderly transition of Sberbank CZ’s client relationships to Ceska Sporitelna," White & Case informed.
"The unique transaction represents the largest M&A deal in the Czech banking sector since the privatization of major banks at the turn of the millennium," according to Skils. "The distressed sale of the loan portfolio takes place as part of the largest and the most widely followed bankruptcy in Czechia’s recent history."
Sberbank Europe subsidiary Sberbank CZ provides banking products and services for individuals, small and medium-sized companies, and large corporations.
Ceska Sporitelna is a Prague-headquartered bank and a member of the Austria-based Erste group.
The White & Case team included Prague-based Partners Tomas Jine and Jan Andrusko, Local Partners Martin Fronek and Jan Jakoubek, and Associates Ondrej Barton and Lukas Pavlik, as well as lawyers from the firm’s Washington and Brussels offices.
The Skils team included Managing Partner Karel Muzikar, Partners Karel Drevinek, Roman Janecek, and Pavel Grim, and Senior Associate Ivo Trojan.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, Baker McKenzie Prague announced it worked together with White & Case to advise Jirina Luzova on the sale of Sberbank CZ's loan portfolio to Ceska Sporitelna. "The transaction is part of the ongoing liquidation of all banking operations of Sberbank CZ following the revocation of its banking license by the regulator and its subsequent insolvency," Baker McKenzie reported. The firm's team included Prague-based Partners Libor Basl and Alexandr Cesar and Associates Slavomir Slavik, Martina Marchand, Petr Vojtech, and Jan Kolar.