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La Caixa, final negotiations with Broadhurst for Libra Bank takeover

CEO Juan Maria Nin said that the Spanish bank was interested in taking over a credit institution in Romania, specializing in retail.

Bucharest – The Spanish bank La Caixa is having final negotiations on Libra Bank takeover from the investment fund Broadhurst, which indirectly owns, through the companies from its portfolio, sources close to the transaction told Mediafax. “La Caixa made an appealing proposition for Broadhurst, and the deal will be closed within a short time period”, the cited sources added, without providing details as to the value of the transaction. Contacted over the phone, Siminel Andrei, CEO of NCH Advisors, a company that manages the local activity of the American investment fund Broadhurst, avoided to confirm directly the negotiations with La Caixa. “The financial – banking sector has a strong growth potential and the issue of selling the bank is hence out of question, but we are interested in a partnership with a global player, who could support the development of the bank by know – how and technology”, Siminel Andrei said. La Caixa entered the Romanian market last autumn through the opening of a branch. At that moment, the CEO of the Spanish bank, Juan Maria Nin, declared that La Caixa was interested in taking over a credit institution from Romania, with expertise in the retail market. He specified that such an acquisition would entail targeting 3-4 per cent of the specialist market on short term. Thus, Juan Maria Nin was considering either the takeover of a bank having a similar share, or a smaller credit institution and its further organic development. At the end of last September, the assets of Libra Bank were RON 641 M worth. Libra Bank was included into New Century Holdings (NCH) portfolio in May 2003, when the entire stock was taken over from nine companies held by the investment fund Broadhurst. Broadhurst is one of the first investment funds active in the Romanian market and it has been one of the most active. Over the past two years, Broadhurst registered several exits, mainly through splitting the companies in the portfolio and sale of real estate. One of the most significant and recent transactions is represented by the sale of Winmarkt store chain to the Italian real estate group IGD, against EUR 182.5 M. La Caixa is the largest saving bank in Europe and it ranks the third in Spain, within financial groups. In 2007, the group registered a profit amounting to EUR 2.48 bln., lower than in 2006, when the exceptional proceeds amounting to EUR 1.5 bln. raised the net profit to more than EUR 3 bln. Last year results indicated a more substantial earning from the banking activity, EUR 2.01 bln., whereas the exceptional profits amounted only to EUR 477 M. The bank assets are EUR 385 bln. worth, by 14.3 per cent more than in 2006. Sursa: http://www.nineoclock.ro

Tags: takeover libra broadhurst negotiations caixa

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