Serbia's Alta Group buys 30% of Balkan-focused Addiko Bank

The process of obtaining approval for acquiring the majority stake in Addiko from all relevant regulatory bodies has been initiated. Once the acquisition is completed, Alta Pay Group will become one of the leading players in the banking sector in former Yugoslavia, Alta Pay Group said in a statement on Monday.

The group, owned by businessman Davor Macura, also includes Serbia's Alta Banka, which was established in 1979.

Alta Pay Group is a regional payment service provider with a system of 4,100 locations across Serbia and Montenegro, according to the statement. It has become Western Union's strategic partner for the two countries after acquiring local money transfer service Eki Transfers in January.

Addiko emerged from the eastern European business of failed Austrian lender Hypo Alpe Adria and was acquired by private equity firm Advent International and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2014.

Addiko, which listed on the Vienna stock exchange in 2019, is active in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.

Addiko says on its website that as of March 28 its largest single shareholder was Agri Europe Cyprus with 9.99%, followed by DDM Invest III AG (Switzerland) with 9.90%, Alta Pay Group with 9.63%, US-based Wellington Management Group LLP with 8.85% and EBRD with 8.40%. The remainder belonged to smaller shareholders.