April 28 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's competition authority said it has granted approval to Belgium's KBC Group to acquire 99.91% of United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) and 100% of leasing company Interlease from National Bank of Greece.
Following the acquisition, the market share of KBC Group in any of the segments of both the wholesale and retail banking sectors in Bulgaria will not exceed 15%, the Commission for Protection of Competition announced on its website on Wednesday.
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In December, KBC Group said it had entered into a definitive agreement with National Bank of Greece (NBG) for the acquisition of NBG's 99.91% stake in UBB and its 100% stake in Interlease for a total consideration of 610 million euro ($667 million).
UBB was Bulgaria's fifth largest lender by assets as of end-Ferbruary, according to central bank data.
Bulgarian media reported in January that KBC Group plans to combine the assets of UBB and Sofia-based CIBank, which it already owns, to create the third largest bank in Bulgaria.
($ = 0.9144 euro)
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