May 4 (SeeNews) - Romania’s Banca Transilvania [BSE: TLV] said on it Friday it has bought a further 5.42% of Victoriabank, Moldova’s third-largest lender, for 106 million Moldavian lei ($6.3 million/ 5.3 million euro).
Following a mandatory buyout bid, Banca Transilvania owns 44.6% of Victoriabank, it said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB. Currently, Banca Transilvania and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) jointly hold 72.19% of the share capital of Victoriabank.
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Banva Transilvania bought 1,356,058 shares in the buyout which was open between February 14 and April 24.
In January, Banca Transilvania became a shareholder of Victoriabank after acquiring a 39.18% stake in a deal that marked the first investment by a non-Moldovan bank in the local market in a decade.
Banca Transilvania has said its the priorities for Victoriabank are to support the business environment in Moldova, especially the SME and microenterprise sector, and to develop a wider range of products and services for retail clients.
With almost 30 years of activity Victoriabank has 540,000 customers, 1,400 employees and nearly 100 units.
The Banca Transilvania Financial Group has been present in Moldova for over 10 years, since it founded BT Leasing MD.
Banca Transilvania's shares traded 2.39% higher at 2.57 lei as at 1502 CET on Friday on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
(1 euro=4.6569 lei)
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