Banca Comerciala Carpatica received a firm revised offer Friday for a merger through absporption and shareholders will discuss the terms on December 19.
The board of directors of Sibiu-based BCC, controlled by businessman Ilie Carabulea, has summoned its shareholders to approve the main terms and conditions of the merger offer Nextebank submitted on November 14, according to a statement to the Bucharest Stock Exchange monday.
The management of Banca Carpatica announced earlier this year its plans to merge with another bank to maximize its growth potential.
Banking sources told MEDIAFAX in August that JC Flowers, a private equity firm founded by a former partner and executive at Goldman Sachs, is in competition with AnaCap and Axxess Capital for a stake in Banca Carpatica.
Banca Carpatica has been in the spotlight earlier this year after in March the central bank suspended the voting rights of two of its largest shareholders, namely Ilie Carabulea and Corneliu Tanase.
Carabulea was placed under house arrest for suspicion of bribery and influence peddling in connection to a case regarding the insurance company Carpatica Asig, part of the Carpatica banking and financial group. Tanase’s voting rights were suspended for having acted together with Carabulea.
Carabulea owns roughly 41.29% in Carpatica. His share could be acquired by the new investors in the bank.
Carpatica posted a RON21.75 million loss in January-Septmebr, from a RON19.37 million profit in the same period last year. Its assets dropped 19%, to RON3.29 billion.
Emerging Europe Accession Fund (EEAF), managed by Axxess Capital, completed on April 30 the takeover of Nextebank Romania from Hungarian lender MKB, following clearance from the Romanian central bank. The deal targeted 98% of Nextebank shares, which were sold for an undisclosed amount.
EEAF, a follow-on fund of the Balkan Accession Fund (BAF), having the EBRD, EIF, DEG and Black Sea Bank as institutional investors, is the third private equity fund managed by Axxess Capital.
Axxess Capital is an independent investment manager operating in the Southeastern Europe region for the last 8 years, which has closed over 35 transactions so far.