Abanka is the third largest bank by assets in Slovenia and is 100% owned by the federal government.
NKBM is the second largest bank in the country and is owned 80% by investment funds affiliated and managed by US private equity firm Apollo Global Management and 20% by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
NKBM management board chairman John Denhof said: “This historic moment is an incredible opportunity for us and Abanka to create a stronger combined bank, which is positive for the Slovenian economy. The combined bank will have improved access to customers in all segments nationwide and will support the competitiveness of the Slovenian banking sector.”
Abanka started operations in 1955 as a branch of the Yugoslav Bank for Foreign Trade. In 1977, the branch was renamed Jugobanka – Temeljna banka Ljubljana and about 12 years later, the bank was transformed into Abanka, a public limited company, while leaving the Jugobanka system.
In December 2002, the bank was merged with Banka Vipa and was renamed as Abanka Vipa.
Currently, the Slovenian bank offers various financial services that range from traditional retail and corporate banking products to private banking and bancassurance.
The sale of the bank, which is subject to all applicable approvals and authorisations from the relevant authorities, was announced by Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), as a representative of Slovenia.
SSH said that NKBM was selected as the buyer in a competitive sales process managed by it after submitting the best bid for 100% of the shares of the bank.
According to SSH, privatisation of Abanka attracted a wide variety of strategic and financial investors while claiming that the process was carried out on par with best international standards and in a transparent manner.
Prior to the signing of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA), a dividend of €67m (£59.58m) was paid out to the government in May 2019.
SSH management board president Igor Kržan said: “With today’s execution of the Sale and Purchase Agreement with the Buyer of Abanka, Nova kreditna banka Maribor, SSH has satisfied all of the committments given by the Republic of Slovenia to the European Commission with regard to the state aid.
“The signing of the Agreement is an important milestone in SSH’s efforts to successfully complete privatisation processes, acquiring responsible and experienced investors who will support the development of companies and their transformation into more successful and more competitive players.”
