Banca Intesa-Ukrsotsbank Deal Passes Hurdle

The securities commission has registered Ukrsotsbank’s share emission, clearing the way for Banca Intesa to complete its planned $1.16 bn purchase of an 88.1% stake. Meanwhile the newspaper Delo quoted Gennady Korban, one of the junior partners in the Privat group, saying Ukrsotsbank’s current owner, Viktor Pinchuk, had agreed to buy out minority shareholders, including Korban’s small personal stake, at the same price/share that Banca Intesa is paying. However, Kommersant quoted an unnamed Privat group source saying the group planned to continue with legal action aimed at blocking regulatory approval of the deal in Italy. Alexander Viktorov: The reported buy-out of minority shareholders at the same price/share as the takeover deal would be an excellent precedent, especially in light of the problems at Zaporizhstal. We believe more strongly than ever that this deal will go through as no one would really benefit from stopping it. Separate from that, the registration of the share emission helps Ukrsotsbank meet its capital adequacy requirements.