International law firm Bird & Bird has advised OTP Bank on its landmark acquisition of 100% of the shares of Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor d.d. (Nova KBM), the 2nd largest bank in the Slovenian banking market, from Apollo Global Management LLC, a US-based global alternative investment manager and private equity firm, and the EBRD.
Following the closing of the transaction, OTP Group – as the owner of SKB and Nova KBM – will be the number one player in the Slovenian financial market in terms of both loans and deposits, with a market share of almost 30%. OTP Group is present in 11 countries, of which Slovenia is the fifth market where the Budapest headquartered, stock exchange listed (as OTP Bank plc.) financial group becomes the dominant player.
Pál Szabó, co-head of country and head of the Corporate practice in Hungary at Bird & Bird, comments: “Our team is delighted to have helped OTP Group with respect to the next phase of its growth across the region, this transaction marks a significant move in the CEE banking market. This deal is a clear recognition that our clients highly value the knowledge of our team in regulated sectors such as financial services, as well as our cross-border capabilities. The fact that the transaction involved the carve-out of certain business lines adds another layer of complexity to this deal both from a transactional and a regulatory perspective.
Selih & Partners advised OTP Bank on the Slovenian law aspects of the deal. We would like to thank their team for their tremendous contributions, commitment and professionalism, and the seamless and smooth cooperation during the transaction.”
Gábor Kolics, Head of Group Acquisition and Integration Directorate at OTP Bank, adds: “We were pleased to have Bird & Bird by our side, their expertise and commitment have been integral to successfully close this highly complex transaction.”
Bird & Bird’s team was led by Pál Szabó (partner, Corporate), with support from Dária Szabó (senior associate, Corporate), Eszter Gál (associate, Corporate), Dániel Arányi (counsel, EU & Competition), László Zlatarov (special counsel, EU & Competition), Gábor Kutai (senior associate, EU & Competition), Csongor Tompa (counsel, Banking & Finance), Gábor Szabó (senior associate, Banking & Finance) and György Boros (associate, Banking & Finance).
In April last year Bird & Bird and Selih & Partners were awarded the ‘2021 Deal of the Year in Slovenia’ by CEE Legal Matters for this deal.
OTP Bank is an anchor client of the Budapest office, last year our team also advised on the strategic acquisition of Alpha Bank in Albania in July 2022.
