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Commerzbank in $600m Ukraine buy
Real estate news By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev
September 18 2007 13:06
Commerzbank is buying a 60 per cent stake in Ukraine’s Bank Forum for $600m, the German group said on Tuesday, the latest in a flurry of purchases by European banks seeking to gain exposure to the former Soviet republic’s promising banking market. Under the agreement, Commerzbank has also secured the option to purchase an additional 25 per cent stake within 36 months. It will finance the deal through existing resources.
“After an intensive search, we have found an ideal complement for our network of operational outlets in the booming region of central and eastern Europe in the form of Bank Forum, the 10th largest bank in Ukraine by total assets,” said Martin Blessing, a member of Commerzbank’s managing board. “This represents another step in our strategy of selective acquisitions to grow within our target regions. With approximately 12,000 corporate customers, of which 9,500 are small and medium-sized enterprises, Bank Forum is already making an important contribution to strengthening our Mittelstand business. In addition, we plan to expand Bank Forum’s retail customer business considerably in the coming years,” Mr Blessing added.
Bank Forum is majority owned by Ukrainian-born Leonid Yurushev and his family. Mr Yurushev, a Greek national, also has investments in Ukrainian real estate development projects and assets in industry. The bank was founded in 1994 and, after rapid expansion, now has assets totalling the equivalent of €1.4bn and a market share of 2.3 per cent. It plans to increase the number of branches to 400 in the next four years, whilst doubling its market share.
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