Bank of Georgia Group PLC (BOGG), the largest banking and investment company in Georgia, has signed an agreement to acquire the Armenian bank Ameriabank CJSC for $303.6 million. This is reported in a press release from BOGG.
The financing of the transaction involves the use of BOGG's excess capital and is aimed at maximizing shareholder returns against the background of high capital adequacy indicators of JSC Bank of Georgia (JSC BOG), the main operating division of BOGG.
The deal is subject to approval by shareholders and regulatory authorities and is aimed at expanding BOGG's presence in the fast-growing Armenian market, which is close to the Georgian capital market in terms of its characteristics and will open up additional growth opportunities given BOGG's high performance in the field of digitalization, payments and expansion of the customer base.
After the transaction closes, 90% of Ameriabank shares will be owned by BOGG, and 10% will remain owned by European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) in accordance with the Put and Call Option agreement.
Ameriabank is an Armenian universal bank providing corporate, investment and retail banking services with headquarters in Yerevan (Armenia). Ameriabank's shareholders are Imast Group (48.82%), EBRD (17.71%), AsianDevelopment Bank (13.91%) and ESPS Group (12.05%). The bank's assets amount to $3.5 billion.
Bank of Georgia Group PLC is one of the largest commercial banks in Georgia and a UK-registered holding company that includes retail and corporate banking, payment business and investment banking. The shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The headquarters is located in Tbilisi (Georgia).
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