Unicredit is apparently interested in a possible takeover of the Russian Otkritie Bank FC, which was rescued by a moratorium a few years ago. CEO Andrea Orcel wants to expand the Italian bank’s presence in Eastern Europe again, people familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg. Unicredit specialists will start with the due diligence of the money house this week, it is said. The Milanese have hired an adviser to examine the Moscow bank’s books and expect the process to be completed within weeks.
Otkritie is a systemically important Russian institution that was nationalized in 2017 in the country’s largest bailout after the bank nearly collapsed under bad loans, most of which it made to its owners. Unicredit’s interest in Russian expansion runs counter to a trend in recent years in which some foreign lenders such as Deutsche Bank reduced their local presence as sanctions and compliance risks increasingly weighed on local business. Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International and France’s Société Générale are still represented in the country.
Successful coup?
If the purchase goes through, it would be a real coup for the experienced dealmaker Orcel after the failed negotiations with the Italian government over the takeover of the scandalous bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena last year. Russia’s central bank, which has owned Otkritie since the bailout, said last August it had started preparations for an IPO but was also considering the possibility of a sale to a strategic investor. (aa)
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