Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office has advised Eurobank Ergasias S.A., one of the largest banks in Greece, on the sale of its Ukrainian subsidiary, Universal Bank, to Ukraine's TAS Group industrial group, which owned by Ukrainian businessman Sergiy Tigipko.
The Eurobank group is active in eight countries, with total assets of EUR 68.2 billion and 15,935 employees. With a total network of 900 branches in Greece and abroad, the group offers a range of financial products and services to its retail and corporate customers.
TAS GROUP was founded in 1998 and is, according to Baker McKenzie, "one of the biggest and most dynamic financial and industrial groups in Ukraine." The group has business interests in the financial and industrial sectors, real estate, agriculture, and venture projects. In the financial sector, TAS Group is represented by Tascombank, consumer finance company KreditMarket, life and non-life insurance companies operating under the TAS trademark, and processing center TAS Link.
The Baker McKenzie team was led by Kyiv Partner Ihor Olekhov, with input from Senior Associate Andrii Moskalyk and Associates Bogdan Dyakovych, Stepanyda Badovska, Alyona Furda, and Olena Serpukhovitina.
Commenting on the transaction, Ihor Olekhov said: "We are delighted to have advised Eurobank on this milestone M&A deal for the Ukrainian banking sector. The challenging conditions in the banking market in Ukraine have made this transaction quite sophisticated. We hope this is one of the first signs of recovery in the banking and financial services markets in Ukraine, which for several years have experienced significant downfalls."
