Raiffeisen International To Merge Raiffeisenbank (Ukraine) And Aval.

Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG (Austria), which acquired a 93.5% stake in Bank Aval, the second-largest bank in Ukraine, plans to merge Aval with its subsidiary Raiffeisenbank (Ukraine) by 2008. Concorde Capital: Initially Raiffeisen claimed that it was going to keep Aval?s brand and the bank would operate as a single entity. According to the acquisition agreement, Aval?s minority shareholders have the right to sell their stakes to Raiffeisen International up to six months after the final legalization of the deal at the price of selling shares for the majority stake. In accordance with the same agreement, the size of the deal will not be disclosed. We have not obtained any information from Raiffeisen about the buy-out price yet. We are watching the situation closely.