November 18 (SeeNews) - Eurobank Bulgaria, which operates under the Postbank brand, said on Monday it has successfully completed the operational merger with its unit Piraeus Bank Bulgaria on November 17.
This is the final stage of a deal which is of great importance for Eurobank Group and is part of its strategy to expand its operations on the markets where it holds a leading position, Eurobank Bulgaria said in a statement.
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Following the completion of the last stage of the deal, Eurobank Bulgaria now has a market share of over 10% in assets, credits and deposits thus strengthening its position on the local banking market.
The legal merger of the two lenders was completed on November 12 - Eurobank Bulgaria took on all assets and liabilities of Piraeus Bank Bulgaria, but did not increase its capital as a result of the process, according to documents entered into the commercial register earlier this month.
Last month, Eurobank Bulgaria received approval from the central bank to absorb Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. Eurobank acquired Piraeus Bank Bulgaria from Greece's Piraeus Bank in June.
The two lenders hold a combined market share of 11.5% in terms of retail banking, and 9% regarding wholesale banking, making them the fourth largest player on both segments, according to data disclosed by the competition regulator earlier this year.
In November 2018, Eurobank signed an agreement to acquire Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. The value of Piraeus Bank Bulgaria's shares is 75 million euro ($82.9 million) and the transaction will have a limited effect on Eurobank's common equity tier 1 capital, Eurobank Bulgaria said at the time.
At the end of September, Eurobank Bulgaria was the country's fifth largest lender by assets, while Piraeus Bank Bulgaria was tenth, according to the most recent central bank data.
($ = 0.90433 euro)
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