Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) and Ion Tiriac have signed an agreement to merge HVB Bank Romania with Banca Tiriac in Bucharest.

 

 With 50.1%, BA-CA will hold the majority in the new bank and will have responsibility for managing the business. The other main shareholder will be Ion Tiriac. The minority shareholders in Banca Tiriac, which currently hold 10.11% of Banca Tiriac, will be invited to join the new bank.

 

“Romania is a strategic core market for Bank Austria Creditanstalt. With this merger, we significantly strengthen our position and jump onto the fourth place on the Romanian banking market. This will give us a solid basis for our further growth,” says Erich Hampel, chief executive officer of BA-CA.

With total assets of €2.08bn, 72 branches, and more than 720,000 customers, the new bank will be number four in Romania. With a market share of 7.5%, it will rank ahead of CEC (5.9%).

 

A detailed plan for the integration of the two banks will be defined as soon as the transaction is completed in the course of this year. The merger is planned to be completed until the end of the year and is subject to approval by all relevant authorities. Both parties have agreed not to disclose further details on the deal. CA IB, BA-CA’s investment banking arm, and Rothschild acted as adviser on this merger