Russia's Alfa Group is buying Bank of Cyprus (Ukraine), the subsidiary of Bank of Cyprus in Ukraine.
“Negotiations on sale of the bank to Alfa Group are underway, but the agreement has not been signed,” a Bank of Cyprus representative told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Alfa-Bank (Ukraine) is taking part in the deal to acquire Bank of Cyprus. We confirm our interest in the acquisition and continue talks with partners on the details of the deal. Official information will be provided in full after an agreement has been signed,” Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Alfa Banking Group Rushan Khvesyuk told Interfax-Ukraine.
However, the newspaper Kommersant-Ukraine reported that Bank of Cyprus Group has already signed an agreement on the sale of 99.77% of the Ukrainian subsidiary to the Alfa Group.
The deal, which includes a number of other assets, is valued at EUR 225 million, Kommersant-Ukraine said.
“The deal has not closed yet. We cannot comment. The figure you named is accurate,” the newspaper quoted Alfa-Bank (Ukraine) President Alexander Lukanov as saying.
Bank of Cyprus (formerly AvtoZAZbank), was founded in 1991. The leading shareholders as of January 1, 2013 included Leasing-Finance LLC (38.59% of shares), Omix-Finance LLLC (19.17%), Korner LLC (19.23%) and Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd (22.78%).
Bank of Cyprus (Ukraine) was the 68th biggest Ukrainian bank by assets out of the 178 active banks as of October 1, 2013, according to National Bank of Ukraine.
