October 2 (SeeNews) - The board of directors of North Macedonia-based lender Ohridska Banka [MSE:OHB], a unit of French lender Societe Generale, said on Wednesday that the takeover bid for 100% of the company by Austria's Steiermarkische Bank und Sparkassen is in line with Ohridska Banka's interests.
If the bid is successful, Ohridska Banka will be able to benefit from the know-how of a large foreign financial group, the company's board said in a statement.
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In addition, the planned integration with Sparkasse Banka Makedonija will potentially lead to an increased lending capacity, larger geographic coverage, and potential for developing modern digital banking solutions.
In February, French lender Societe Generale said that it has agreed to sell its bank in Montenegro to Hungarian peer OTP Bank, and its North Macedonia-based unit Ohridska Banka to Austria'a Steiermaerkische Sparkasse.
In North Macedonia, Societe Generale agreed to sell its 74.53% stake in Ohridska Banka for 2.42 billion denars ($43.0 million/39.3 million euro), or 6,298.79 denars per share, the North Macedonia-based lender said at the time.
At the time, Ohridska Banka said that the Austrian investor intends to launch a takeover bid for 100% of Ohridska Banka at the same price per share, which values the lender at 3.25 billion denars. The takeover bid will be considered successful if holders of at least 74.53% of Ohridska Banka's shares accept the offer, the lender announced back in February.
Ohrisdska Banka shares traded at an average price of 6,150 denars on Wednesday on the stock exchange in Skopje.
(1 euro = 61.56 denars)