Victoriabank acquired a 100% stake in BCR Chişinău for 224.01 million lei (11.5 million euros).
As follows from the data provided by the Stock Exchange of Moldova, on January 11, a transaction for the purchase and sale of 72,813 shares of BCR Chişinău took place at a price of 3,076.53 lei per share. Thus, the total value of the transaction amounted to 224 million 011 thousand 378.89 lei. As previously reported, from November 28, 2023, the shares of BCR Chişinău were admitted to circulation on the Stock Exchange of Moldova and their listing represented an important step for the implementation of the agreement for the full sale of shares of Banca Comercială Română in the BCR Chişinău branch, while the counterparty to this agreement was Victoriabank. Information on the conclusion of the agreement for the purchase and sale of shares of BCR Chişinău by Victoriabank was published at the end of March 2023, while the completion of the transaction was to be preceded by a number of preconditions, including the approval of the National Bank of Moldova, the National Bank of Romania, the European Central Bank, the Competition Council of Moldova and National Commission for the Financial Market of Moldova. It was reported that until all approvals are received, both banks will operate independently, after which BCR Chișinău will be integrated into Victoriabank. The sole shareholder of BCR Chișinău was Banca Comercială Română, which owned its 72,813 shares with a nominal value of 10 thousand lei per share. The authorized capital of the bank is 728.13 million lei. BCR Chișinău has more than 13 thousand active clients, 110 employees and 4 divisions: 2 in Chisinau and 1 each in Balti and Cahul. BCR Chişinău is a universal bank, a branch of BCR (Romania) and a member of the Erste group (Austria). BCR Chișinău began its activities on October 22, 1998, being one of the first banks with foreign capital in Moldova, a member of a leading financial group in Central and Eastern Europe. Banca Comercială Română (BCR) is the leading bank in Romania by asset value (more than 13.8 billion euros), by number of clients (2.9 million) and the leading bank in the savings and lending segment, the highest rated financial brand in Romania, member of Erste Group since 2005. Victoriabank is one of the most reputable banks in Moldova with assets of more than 20 billion lei. The bank has more than 300 thousand active clients, 68 branches and 1,100 employees. The largest shareholders of Victoriabank are Banca Transilvania (Romania) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through the Dutch company VB Investment Holding BV, which owns 72.19% of the shares of the Moldovan bank. It was previously reported that for Banca Comercială Română the decision to sell BCR Chişinău is related to the strategy of focusing exclusively on business development in Romania. At the same time, Victoriabank management noted that the bank and BCR Chișinău have a similar business model with products and services for individuals and legal entities.// 11.01.2024 — InfoMarket.
