OTP Bank to purchase Nova KBM in Slovenia
OTP Bank, DSK Bank's mother company, has signed a share sale and purchase agreement to purchase 100% of Slovenia’s Nova KBM d.d., owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (80%) and EBRD (20%). The acquisition of the bank is the most significant acquisition in the history of OTP Group enabling the banking group to become the market leader in Slovenia. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of next year, subject to obtaining all required regulatory approvals.
Nova KBM d.d. (Nova KBM) is Slovenia's second largest bank with a market share of 20.5% in terms of total assets as of December 2020 and approximately 1,900 employees. The bank is a key player in the Slovenian banking market. In addition to retail and small businesses services, it also provides a full range of banking services to medium and large companies.
Nova KBM, whose profitability has steadily improved in previous years, acquired Abanka in 2020, the third largest player in the Slovenian banking market. The successful integration of the two banks was completed last December. The current transaction is outstanding in the history of OTP Group: its significance is also shown by the fact that, upon closing of the transaction, OTP (owning SKB Bank and Nova KBM) will become the market leader in both loans and deposits in the Slovenian banking market with a share of almost 30%.
The closing of the transaction is expected in 2Q 2022, subject to all required regulatory approvals.
“So far, we have seen our presence in Slovenia as a huge opportunity and, in line with OTP Group's strategy, we have been looking for further growth opportunities in the country since entering the market in 2019. At that time, we acquired the fourth largest player in the Slovenian banking sector, SKB Bank, which has since been successfully integrated into OTP Group. With the new transaction just announced, OTP Bank will become the market leader in the Slovenian financial sector. With the acquisition of Nova KBM, we can further strengthen the already outstanding stability and profit-generating ability of OTP Group, while growing faster than all our competitors. This process will not be interrupted, we are currently examining the possibility of further acquisitions in the region” - said László Wolf, Deputy CEO of OTP Bank.
OTP Bank has been one of the most active financial institutions in the European acquisitions market. Following the financial crisis, new transactions started in 2014 and since then OTP Bank has announced the purchase of 11 financial institutions and banking portfolios in nine countries and then completed their successful integration into the banking group. In addition to Slovenia, OTP Group has entered new countries such as Albania and Moldova. With this unique acquisition performance, OTP Group has become the most active banking sector consolidator in Central and Eastern Europe, substantially improving its market position and augmenting the profit contribution of non-Hungarian group members.
