Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) has completed the acquisition of the majority interest held in International Moscow Bank (IMB) by HVB. This transaction constitutes a further step in the reorganisation of UniCredit Group, within which BA-CA is responsible for the commercial banking in Central and Eastern Europe.
“With IMB, we are gaining one of the most important banks in what is arguably the most important market in Central and Eastern Europe,” says Erich Hampel, the CEO of BA-CA. “It is our clear aim to grow vigorously in Russia and therefore we will support IMB’s expansion targets.”
HVB has sold its interest of 70.26 percent in International Moscow Bank (IMB) to BA-CA in cash for a price totalling approximately €1 billion. BA-CA has also recently acquired the 19.77 percent interest in IMB held by VTB Bank France. Following the acquisition of the shareholdings held by VTB France and HVB, BA-CA holds now 90.03 percent of IMB’s total share capital, which corresponds to 95.19 percent of IMB’s voting capital. Besides BA-CA, the only other remaining shareholder is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).