Four expressions of interest in purchase of Croatia Banka received

ZAGREB, Sept 10 (Hina) – The State Agency for Deposit Insurance and Bank Resolution (DAB) has received four expressions of interest in the purchase of Croatia Bank, including two from Europe and one each from the United States and Hong Kong, DAB said on Thursday.

“Four expressions of interest in the purchase of 100% of shares in Croatia banka d.d. have been received. They came from the financial and banking sector, notably from interested parties from the United States, Hong Kong and two from Europe,” DAB said in a brief response to Hina’s query.

It added that due diligence was underway and would be completed by October 9, after which the transaction would be concluded in the following months.

Croatia Banka is fully owned by DAB, which published a call for expression of interest in its purchase on July 6. On sale are 4,746,000 series A shares, each having a nominal value of HRK 100, which constitutes 100% of the bank’s share capital.

According to data from the Croatian National Bank, Croatia Banka is among smaller Croatian banks, with a 0.46% share in the total assets of banks in Croatia, and last year its total assets totalled HRK 1.97 billion. It ended 2019 with a loss of HRK 25 million, while in the first half of 2020 it reported a gross profit of HRK 4.8 million.