On Monday, Moneta Money Bank shareholders agreed to merge with PPF’s banking division, which includes Air Bank, Czech and Slovak Home Credit and Benxy (Zonky). At the same time, the General Meeting approved the financing of the transaction, ie an increase in the bank’s share capital for the subscription of new shares. This was stated by the bank’s spokeswoman Zuzana Filipová. The bank’s management feared that the negotiations would be disrupted by environmental activists.
Through the acquisition, Moneta will acquire from the PPF Group one hundred percent of the shares of the Air Bank Group for a purchase price of CZK 25.90 billion. 80 percent will be financed from the money that Moneta will receive from its current shareholders for the subscription of 255,500,000 newly issued shares, the remaining 20 percent will be financed from the bank’s surplus capital.
Moneta’s largest shareholder is the PPF Group with 29.94 percent of shares. However, it is not yet clear what the shareholder structure will look like when the merger is completed.
The subscription will be two-round, in the first round all Moneta shareholders will be offered new shares at a price of 82 crowns per share, where every two existing Moneta shares will allow their owner to subscribe for one new one. In a possible second round, all shareholders will subscribe for shares for 90 crowns. PPF also undertook to subscribe for all new shares offered in the second round.
“We are very pleased that the required majority of shareholders have agreed to the acquisition and its financing. We believe that the acquisition of the Air Bank Group will create a strong Czech banking champion for sole proprietors and small clients in the domestic banking market,” said Monety Chairman Tomáš Spurný.
The purchase price will be paid upon settlement of the acquisition, the date of which is tentatively set for July next year, subject to regulatory approval. The settlement of the acquisition must be preceded by the approval of the Czech National Bank and the National Bank of Slovakia and also by obtaining the antitrust approval of the European Commission.
The merger may result in the third largest bank on the Czech market after Česká spořitelna and ČSOB, depending on the number of clients. Moneta Money Bank has been operating under its current name since 2016. At that time, the bank’s name was changed from the former GE Money Bank in connection with its listing on the stock exchange in May of the same year. Moneta is one of the largest companies traded on the Prague Stock Exchange.
PPF made a voluntary public offer to Moneta in January 2021, through which it acquired its existing ownership stake in the bank. Subsequently, a general meeting was held in June this year, which was attended by 73.21 percent of shareholders. However, at the general meeting, 61.9 percent of shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition of Moneta, and 61.7 percent in favor of the capital increase. However, 75 percent of the vote had to be obtained for approval.
At the General Meeting, Moneta’s shareholders have now agreed to pay dividends from previous years of CZK 1.53 billion, which corresponds to three crowns per share.
Protests by environmental activists
Billionaire Pavel Tykač has also held a more than 5% stake in Moneta Bank since this year. Due to the fragmentation of Moneta’s shareholder structure, this is considered a high proportion. According to the current ranking, Tykač is the ninth richest Czech or Slovak businessman with assets worth 37 billion crowns and is known mainly for his work in the energy sector. In addition, it actively invests in shares of publicly traded companies.
Tykač’s activities in the energy sector belong to the Sev.en Energy group. This includes mining companies in the Czech Republic, as well as Elektrárna Chvaletice, Teplárna Kladno, Teplárna Zlín, Coal Services and Sev.en Commodities. At the beginning of this year, the largest coal-fired power plant in the Czech Republic, Počerady, was added. Tykach also invested in the United States, where it bought the mining company Blackhawk Mining last year.
However, it is these activities of Barbarian Tykač in Moneta that bother some environmental activists who planned a protest before the Moneta General Assembly. The bank issued a statement last week calling on environmental organizations to abandon plans to disrupt the negotiations.
“Publicly available sources say that representatives of environmental organizations associated in the Stop Dirty Money online platform are planning to disrupt Monday’s general meeting. Moneta would therefore like to ask them not to do so. The bank is convinced that for such activity there is no reason: Moneta is an example of a responsible financial institution in relation to promoting sustainability and environmental activities, “the bank said in a statement, adding that it wanted to discuss with activists.
Environmental activists on the online platform Stop dirty money it bothers me in particularthat “banks and insurance companies give money to fossil firms operating coal and gas power plants that are destroying our health and the climate on the planet.” According to them, Tykač also stated that he wanted a bank from Moneta “supporting traditional Czech industry”, which activists see mainly coal.
In the end, about a dozen activists finally tried to dissuade shareholders from voting for the merger on Monday. The connection with the PPF group and possibly Tykač would be devastating for Moneta and the environment, Petr Doubravský, a spokesman for the initiative, told reporters.
“According to Greenpeace, Moneta is one of the best in terms of sustainability. However, we are worried about what will happen when PPF and eventually barbarian Pavel Tykač gain significantly more influence over Moneta. Pavel Tykač’s Northern Energy Company is one of the largest coal corporations in the Czech Republic and there are no secret plans to turn Moneta into a bank that will support traditional Czech industry, which in its submission clearly means coal, “said Radek Kubala, another spokesman for the initiative.
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