乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 Deal Advisory acted as the buy-side M&A advisor and successfully advised 膶SOB麓s shareholder KBC Group realize strategic acquisition of OTP Banka in Slovakia.

KBC Group and the Hungarian OTP Bank have entered into an agreement under which KBC will acquire a 99.44% stake in OTP Banka Slovensko. The remaining 0.56% stake is owned by minority shareholders. The transaction was closed in November 2020 following regulatory approvals from the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic.

OTP Banka Slovensko, a.s. operates on the Slovak market as a universal bank. Since 4 April 2002, OTP Bank Plc., Hungary鈥檚 largest bank, has been the majority shareholder of OTP Banka Slovensko, a.s. At the end of 2019, OTP Banka Slovensko, a.s. had a market share of 1.75 % in deposits and 1.85 % in loans. It currently operates a network of 58 branches throughout Slovakia and serves roughly 176 000 retail customers and 14 400 corporate/SME customers.  The bank is based in Bratislava and the bulk of its business relates to banking products and services provided to individuals and legal entities within the Slovak market.

S谩ndor Cs谩nyi, OTP Bank Chairman and CEO: 鈥橣ollowing the successful financial closing of the transaction, in line with our strategy, we will continue to investigate possible acquisitions actively in the region, primarily in countries where we are already present.鈥�

Belgium-based KBC Bank NV is the parent company and sole shareholder of 膶eskoslovensk谩 obchodn谩 banka, a.s. (膶SOB). 膶SOB is a leading Slovak bank boasting over 50 years of tradition. It is one of the most significant and strongest financial institutions on the Slovak market. As a universal bank, it provides services to a full range of customers including retail, self-employed, SME, corporate and institutional customers. It is part of the 膶SOB Financial Group, which also includes 膶SOB Stavebn谩 sporite木艌a, a.s. (building society), 膶SOB Leasing, a.s., 膶SOB Real, s.r.o., 膶SOB Advisory, s.r.o. and 膶SOB Nad谩cia (foundation). 膶SOB Pois钮ov艌a, a.s. (insurance company) is a sister company of 膶SOB.

The acquisition of OTP Banka Slovensko, a.s. will chiefly boost retail operations and market share in:

• Mortgages (from 12.9% to 14.8%)
• Consumer loans (from 4.7% to 8.2%)

Based on the group鈥檚 banking and insurance model, 膶SOB Pois钮ov艌a, a.s., 膶SOB Leasing, a.s. and KBC Asset Management will also benefit from the acquisition through cross-selling products and services to OTP Banka Slovensko鈥檚 retail customer base.

Johan Thijs, KBC Group CEO: 鈥橳his transaction is fully in line with our strategy, which focuses on becoming the reference bank-insurance group for retail customers, small and medium-sized enterprises and midcaps in all our core markets.鈥�

Daniel Koll谩r, CEO of 膶SOB Bank Slovakia and Country Manager concluded: 鈥�Transaction marks an important milestone for 膶SOB. Merging OTP Banka Slovensko into 膶SOB will substantially strengthen our banking and insurance franchise in the country and further enhance our cross-selling potential with 膶SOB Poist鈥檕v艌a, a.s., 膶SOB Leasing, a.s., and KBC Asset Management.鈥�

乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 acted as the buy-side financial advisor to KBC Group on the acquisition. 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 provided comprehensive advisory services throughout the transaction, from due diligence to negotiation with seller, assistance in communication with regulators and integration planning.