Advent, EBRD in potential partnership to buy Hypo SEE

Hypo is selling its SEE network due to the European Commission's decision in September 2013 to liquidate the bank. Hypo was told the SEE network should be sold or wound up by the end of June 2015.

The sale is set to go through following the approval of the bank's owner Republic of Austria, as well as Advent and EBRD.

Advent declined to comment on the deal. A spokesperson for EBRD confirmed it is currently in talks with Advent regarding a potential partnership to buy the assets, but it has yet to finalise its decision and the sale is still in the very early stages.

Hypo has a €2.2bn line of credit with its SEE network, which will remain in place following a sale of the assets. The bank said in a statement regarding the dealings that it is confident the amount will be returned as it regards the Advent/EBRD consortium as a "sound partner".

The assets potentially being sold to the two parties comprise six banks in five SEE countries, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. A total of 3,900 employees work across the six banks, all of whom are expected at the moment to keep their jobs following a sale.

The network, which comprises 245 bank branches, currently has a balance sheet of €8.4bn and boasts 1.15 million customers.

Alexander Picker and Rainer Sichert, Hypo's chairman and executive board member respectively, have resigned from their positions with Hypo to take up roles on the SEE network's board.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• CEE
• Advent International
• EBRD
• Slovenia
• Croatia
• Serbia