Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has advised Erste Bank Group on its acquisition of an additional 6.29% shareholding in Banca Comerciala Romana from investment company SIF Oltenia, giving it a total, now, of 99.88%.
The remaining 0.12% shares in BCR are held mainly by former and current BCR employees.
In a press release issued by Erste Group, the bank stated that ”the transaction values BCR at a price/book multiple of 1.35x as of Q1 2018, in line with market valuations for Romanian listed banks. The total value of the transaction amounts to EUR 140 million.”
“This transaction has been awaited by both sides for quite some time,” commented Andreas Treichl, Chief Executive Officer at Erste Group in the same press material. "While the general tendency is for international banking groups to opt to divest and reduce their exposure, we are reaffirming our long-term view on the exceptional potential of the CEE region and the transaction that will follow on the basis of this agreement will make Erste Group one of the largest foreign investors in Romania in 2018.”
Tudor Cirezu, Chairman and General Manager of SIF Oltenia, added: “The senior management of SIF Oltenia has a long term commitment to its shareholders to manage its portfolio in the best possible way and maximize the trust investors have placed in us. Through its stake in BCR, Romania’s largest bank, SIF Oltenia plays a strategic role in the Romanian economy. Following this transaction, it will ensure it keeps playing a significant role by investing in sectors with long-term growth potential.”
Subject to the successful completion of Erste Group and SIF Oltenia’s corporate and regulatory approval processes, the purchase will be implemented in a single sale-purchase transaction. The parties signed the sale-purchase agreement on August 16th, 2018, while the execution is planned for the second half of the year.
Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii advised on both corporate and M&A implications of the transaction, as well as on a spectrum of capital markets issues, considering that both Erste Group Bank and SIF Oltenia are listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Deputy Managing Partner Stefan Damian and Partner Silvana Ivan led the firm's team.
