18 Septembrie 2009
Dinu Patriciu and former Georgian PM acquire Narodny Bank
Romanian businessman Dinu Patriciu and former Georgian Prime Minister Vladimer Lado Gugenidze reached an agreement Thursday to acquire Georgia’s Narodny Bank througha special buyout vehicle from Eurooil, fully-owned subsidiary of RAK Investment, Interfax news agency informs.
The country’s supervisory authority confirmed the deal, but refused to disclose further details on the transaction. However, a source closed to the banking group said the CEO of Narodny Bank, Zurab Tsulaya would make an official announcement in a media briefing.
Sources cited by the Georgian newspaper Commersant say Patricu paid $7mln for the equity.
“We know Patriciu is present in Georgia, but no official announcement has been made”, Commersant journalists said.
Eurooil had reportedly handled intensive talks with foreign business groups interested in buying the bank. Eurooil said at that time that the deal could be completed in August, but failed to disclose the potential buyers.
In January 2008, Eurooil, registered in UK, bought 65% of Narodny’s equity, boosting it further to 89%. Eurooil had planned to raise stake to 100%. At that time, the new buyer sold its entire non-banking asset portfolio.
Narodny Bank was established in 2002 and has a network of 211 outlets across the country, being the country’s 27th largest bank, according to Interfax.
Sources cited by the Georgian newspaper Commersant say Patricu paid $7mln for the equity.
“We know Patriciu is present in Georgia, but no official announcement has been made”, Commersant journalists said.
Eurooil had reportedly handled intensive talks with foreign business groups interested in buying the bank. Eurooil said at that time that the deal could be completed in August, but failed to disclose the potential buyers.
In January 2008, Eurooil, registered in UK, bought 65% of Narodny’s equity, boosting it further to 89%. Eurooil had planned to raise stake to 100%. At that time, the new buyer sold its entire non-banking asset portfolio.
Narodny Bank was established in 2002 and has a network of 211 outlets across the country, being the country’s 27th largest bank, according to Interfax.