Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. is mainly active in the financial and banking sector, being the parent company of the Intesa Sanpaolo group. Intesa Group is present in Romania through its Romanian subsidiary, Banca Comerciala Intesa Sanpaolo Romania S.A.
First Bank Romania is a credit institution active on the Romanian financial and banking services market, which operates a network of 40 branches and provides services to both individuals and legal entities.
Following the analysis, the Competition Council found that this operation does not significantly impede effective competition on the Romanian market or in a substantial part of it and that there are no serious doubts as to its compatibility with a competitive environment.
In October 2023, J.C. Flowers reached an agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo over the acquisition by Intesa of 99.98% of the shares of First Bank Romania from J.C. Flowers & Co. The deal between Intesa Sanpaolo and First Bank is estimated at EUR120-EUR150 million, according to sources in the banking market, and this takeover is expected to propel Intesa Sanpaolo in the top ten ranking of the largest banks in Romania, with a combined market share of over 2%.
J.C. Flowers put First Bank up for sale in 2022 and was close to striking a deal with UniCredit in December, which fell through at the last minute, though. Over the past years, J.C. Flowers has acquired two banks present in Romania, namely, Piraeus Bank (at end-2017), and Leumi Bank (in 2019), creating what First Bank is today.
Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy’s most important banking group, and Intesa Sanpaolo Bank is its Romanian subsidiary.