May 10 (SeeNews) - Greece's Alpha Bank said on Tuesday it has sold 100% of its Macedonian unit to Silk Road Capital, a frontier market-focused investment banking advisory, owned by a Swiss private investor.
The deal has received all necessary regulatory approvals and is already concluded, Alpha Bank said in a statement on its website without disclosing the price for Alpha Bank AD Skopje (ABS).
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The transaction is capital neutral for Alpha Bank and contributes towards the execution of its restructuring plan, the seller also said.
The Greek lender began the process of selling ABS, in line with the fulfillment of its commitments under an EU-backed restructuring plan, in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The Skopje-based bank is Alpha Bank's smallest subsidiary in the Balkans and has a tiny presence also in its domestic market with a market share of less than 2%.
As at end-2015, ABS' assets stood at 84.5 million euro, its loan book was 62.1 million euro, whereas liabilities to customers, including debt securities in issue, were 79.5 million euro, Alpha Bank's annual financial report shows.
ABS posted a net loss of 16.2 million euro last year, up from a loss of 1.5 million euro in 2014. Its total income rose 6.9% to 5 million euro, while total costs fell 2.5% to 5.9 million euro.
In November, the European Commission approved Alpha Bank's amended overhaul plan supporting it with an additional restructuring aid of 2.74 billion euro, the EU Official Journal from April 12, 2016 shows.
According to Alpha Bank's statement, the Swiss private investor, who owns Silk Road Capital, has been active in the banking sector of central and southeast Europe since 2001. According to its website, Silk Road Capital was founded by Alisher Ali, who has over 17 years of investment management, investment banking and advisory experience in emerging and frontier markets including Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Mozambique.