Competition Council endorses HVB Tiriac

The merger of HVB Bank and Banca Tiriac, which will create the fourth largest player on the market in terms of assets, is not likely to result in the consolidation of a dominant position, believes the Competition Council, which recently endorsed the operation. Consent from the competition authorities was necessary to the merger, as the cumulated turnover of the two banks last year exceeded the legal threshold of 10 million euros (the equivalent in RON). According to the decision by the Council, the parties signed a stock sale contract on June 16, which will see Bank Austria Creditanstalt (the majority shareholder in HVB Bank Romania) acquire 50% plus one share in Banca Tiriac. At the same time, Dutch Redrum, a company controlled by the businessman Ion Tiriac (the majority shareholder in Banca Tiriac), will receive from Bank Austria a number of shares in HVB Bank Romania, accounting for 50% minus one share in the latter, in return. According to the decision, the stock sale contract stipulates that the transactions will take place when certain terms are met, in the absence of which the contract cannot be fulfilled. This deal will enable Bank Austria to obtain sole control over Banca Tiriac, and the entity resulting from the merger, HVB Tiriac, will become the fourth largest bank in the system with over 2bn euros in assets and around 7.5% of the market. ZF