UniCredit Inks Agreement to Acquire Ukrsotsbank

Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG, the commercial banking wing of the Italian UniCredit Group, announced late yesterday that it signed an agreement to purchase a 95% stake in Ukrsotsbank (USCB: HOLD) from Interpipe Group, which is headed by Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk. The announced deal value is USD 2.2 bln, which implies USD 2.3 bln for 100% of the company and a P/B’07E of 3.7x. The deal is expected to be completed in 4Q07 and requires the approval of regulators, including the National Bank of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee. The UniCredit Group is already present through its subsidiaries HVB Ukraine and UniCredit Bank Ltd. Another Italy-based bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, was a recent suitor for Ukrsotsbank, but the deal failed to materialize and talks were called off in April.