Daewoo Bank sold for $17 million in record time

The transaction through which the group of Italian firms IMM Manufatti Maglierie was supposed to take over the main stake in Daewoo Bank Romania was eventually closed at the end of last week. The actual share transfer will take place today. For the 99 percent stake in the bank, the Italians paid 17 millions dollars to the Korean company Daewoo Securities, according to the Korea Herald.
Contacted by Ziarul Financiar, the officials of Daewoo Bank Romania confirmed the transaction, but declined comment. They merely said that, although the sale-purchase contract was signed on February 20, the actual transfer of shares was to take place on February 25, 2003, that is today.
This transaction is special because of its rapidity. Discussions usually take long, but in this particular case they only started at the end of last year. The Italian group led by businessman Giovanni Inocenti had planned to take over a Romanian bank before (Libra Bank), but the transaction fell through after several months of negotiations.
Although the Romanian banking market was back then ripe with rumours saying the deal had failed because the central bank had not authorised the takeover, the Italians were in fact unable to reach an understanding with the Libra Bank shareholders as to the price and other issues in the original contract.
Daewoo Bank Romania has been for sale for several years, but, except for Marco International group (which last year was very close to purchasing the main stake), no other investor managed to get past the initial stage of discussions. Marco International gave up on Daewoo Bank after realising that, in light of the new regulations imposed by the National Bank of Romania (NBR), investments in a capital increase would not have been grounded.
Daewoo Romania Bank was established in 1997 and has capital stock amounting to 565 billion ROL. The bank’s assets totalled 2,452 billion ROL last summer.
The Italian banks have been rather idle on the Romanian market so far, even though their number has visibly increased in the past two years.
However, the market is awaiting the strategy of UniCredito this year. The Italian group took over Demirbank Romania. The system is also watching San Paolo IMI, which bought the main stake in Arad-based West Bank in 2001.