January 11 (SeeNews) - Slovenian lender Gorenjska Banka said on Monday it raised 13 million euro ($14.2 million) via the sale of 56,522 new ordinary shares at 230 euro apiece.
The bank said earlier it will issue new shares worth at least 13 million euro to cover a capital shortfall and in line with demands from the Bank of Slovenia.
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
The share offer was valid until January 6.
The first round of the capital hike, during which 613,870 euro was raised through the sale of 2,669 shares, was open to current shareholders only, the bank said. In the second round the bank sold a total of 53,853 shares.
Belgrade-based media reported over the weekend that Serbian vertically-integrated agro-industrial conglomerate MK Group is set to enter the Slovenian banking market by acquiring a share in the country's Kranj-based Gorenjska Banka.
MK Group - the owner of Serbia's AIK Banka - will begin its acquisition by purchasing a 10% share in the Slovenian lender, but intends to increase its holdings shortly, daily Novosti reported.
In September, Slovenian conglomerate Sava [LJE:SAVA] - the owner of a 44% stake in Gorenjska Banka - said the Bank of Slovenia has ordered it to dispose of the shares it holds in the local lender because it does not have the financial strength to give the bank the financial support it needs.
According to information obtained by Novosti, Sava did not list its shares on time, opening up the possibility for other companies to compete for a stake in the bank.
Gorenjska Banka ended the 2014 financial year with net profit of 2 million euro following two years of negative operating results.
($=0.92 euro)
Gorenjska Banka d.d. is among the biggest banks in SEE. You can download our SEE Top 100 ranking
here or subscribe to our free Top 100 newsletter
here