Bulgaria's First Investment Bank Buys MKB Unionbank

First Investment Bank has signed an agreement with Hungarian MKB Bank for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of MKB Unionbank EAD, according to a letter of FIB to the Financial Supervision Commission and the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

The acquisition is to be finalized after the approval of the respective regulatory bodies, investor.bg informs.

After the acquisition of MKB Unionbank EAD, the assets of FIB will reach over BGN 8.5 B, according to reports of the buyer.

The consultancies for the deal were international financial advisor Lazard and First Financial Brokerage House.

In mid-March, FIB was the only candidate buyer who filed a binding offer for MKB Unionbank.

Another candidate to  buy MKB Unionbank was Hungarian OTP Bank, owner of DSK Bank in Bulgaria.

After the acquisition, FIB will rank third by assets, preceded by DSK Bank with BGN 8.9 B and Unicredit Bulbank with BGN 12.7 B.

FIB ranks third by assets before the deal, followed by United Bulgarian Bank with BGN 6.7 B, Corporate Commercial Bank with BGN 6.3 B, Raiffaisenbank Bulgaria with BGN 6 B, and Eurobank Bulgaria with BGN 5.4 B

The value of the deal has not been disclosed.