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.
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77.85 percent of shareholders voted for the merger of Moneta with PPF at a key point in the General Meeting. It was 21.93 percent.
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In the June vote, less than 62 percent of shareholders voted for the merger, while three-quarters of them needed approval. Now, instead of a 75 percent share, only two-thirds were enough. Not only PPF had the same pre-emptive right to the newly issued shares, which are to finance 80 percent of the agreed transaction, but all Moneta shareholders, Trinity Bank analyst Lukáš Kovanda pointed out. According to him, Moneta’s ordinary shareholder thus faced a more attractive offer than the June one.
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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.
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“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 of the Board Tomáš Spurný.
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The acquisition has yet to be approved by the CNB
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.
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The merger will create the third largest bank on the Czech market after Česká spořitelna and ČSOB, according to the number of clients.
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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.
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