Halkbank buys Serbia’s lender for 10 mln euros

BELGRADE / ISTANBUL

Turkey’s state-run Halkbank says it acquired a 76.76 stake in Serbia’s Cacanska Banka for 10.1 million euros after months of negotiations. REUTERS Photo.

Turkey’s state-run Halkbank said on March 20 it has signed a deal to buy a 76.76 percent stake in Serbian lender Cacanska Banka for 10.1 million euros ($10.9 million).

Cacanska Banka has a 1.1 percent market share and assets of 263 million euros.

Serbia agreed on a deal with Halkbank for the sale of a stake in Cacanska Banka after months of talks before inking the agreement, Serbia’s finance ministry said.

Having placed an offer to acquire Cacanska Banka in August 2014, Halkbank said in early December 2014 it had failed to agree on a price with the relevant parties. Then in January 2015, the Turkish bank said it had renewed its interest in Cacanska Banka.

Some 28.48 percent of the bank is owned by the Serbian government, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) holds 24.99 percent. The International Finance Corporation owns 19.99 percent and the remaining 26.54 percent is owned by other shareholders.