KSG Agro top shareholder to buy bank, report says

Sergiy Kasianov, the owner of a 66% stake in KSG Agro (KSG PW), is working to purchase EBRF, a small Ukrainian bank, Forbes.ua reported on April 10, citing anonymous sources. The deal isn’t completed, sources said. EBRF is 16th smallest bank by assets (out of 175 total banks in Ukraine) with USD 24 mln in equity and just USD 7 mln in total liabilities, as of end-2012.

Alexander Paraschiy: The cooperation of banks with agri/food companies under common control hasn’t had a good track record in Ukraine, with the London-listed Avangard and two related Ukrainian banks serving as an example. Despite this, we deem the possible deal as neutral for KSG Agro as we don’t see how such a small bank (with just a head office, one outlet, and a small deposit base) will ease KSG Agro’s access to financing. We also don’t see any additional risks from KSG’s exposure to a related bank.