Slovenia's Goldinar Offers 97.24 Mln Lei (7.0 Mln Euro) for Minority Stake in Moldova's Top Bank

Goldinar has offered to buy 48,500 shares at a price of 2,005 lei per share, the CNPF said in a statement.

The Moldovan bank's capital is divided into 1,037,634 shares with a par value of 200 lei each.

Four Slovenian companies jointly bought 20% of Moldova-Agroindbank for 122.4 million lei in March 2006. The buyers were commercial bank Factor Banka and investment companies Poteza, Activa Invest and Druga Penzija. The stake was previously owned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, a private equity fund. The remaining shares are in the hands of individual and corporate minority shareholders.

Last November individual Slovenian investor Milena Logar bought a 1.12% stake in Moldova-Agroindbank for 23.3 million lei. In February this year, Slovenian company Tkanina bought 0.98% stake in the bank for 20.3 million lei.

 Moldova-Agroindbank, established in 1991, extends around 23% of all loans in the country and holds 22% of the deposits in Moldova's banking system. The bank has some 65 branches and 23 representative offices in the country.

(1 euro=13.9083 Moldovan lei)