Slovenian lender NLB to acquire Summit Leasing

NLB will acquire SLS Holdco from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The purchase price represents a modest premium to the book value of Summit Leasing, which also provides point-of-sale consumer finance, NLB said.

Completion is planned for the second half of 2024, the bank said in a filing with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.

"We believe that leasing will become a significant part of the group. It is planned that in its mature phase, it will contribute more than 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) to the total assets of the group, with the newest acquisition significantly accelerating this ambition. Our goal is for our leasing companies to become the leaders in the field of movables across our region and to play an important role in mobility in the markets of our presence," NLB's CEO Blaz Brodnjak said in the filing.

The acquisition is expected to increase NLB's risk weighted assets by approximately 700 million euro. Cost and funding synergies are expected to ensure that the transaction is earnings accretive from the first full year of acquisition, with full realisation of cost synergies targeted within a period of about 18 months from completion, the Slovenian lender added.

($ = 0.9155 euro)