The Italian multinational banking group UniCredit S. p.A. owns an additional 2.3% of the shares of the Greek Alpha Bank through various financial instruments and may increase the total stake in the bank to 32.1%. This is reported in a press release from Alpha Bank.
Currently, UniCredit's direct stake in Alpha Bank is 29.8% and does not provide for a full takeover, since even if the stake increases to 32.1%, UniCredit is not required to make a public offer (in Greece, such an obligation is granted only to holders of voting rights exceeding 33.33%).
In 2023, UniCredit bought out 9% of Alpha Bank shares along with a controlling stake in the Romanian division of the bank. The market capitalization of the Greek Alpha Bank is 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion).
From the point of view of UniCredit management, Europe needs cross-border banking consolidation, and the deal with Alpha Bank can be considered as a model in the banking sector aimed at creating a banking union, capital markets union and simplification of procedures.
After the debt crisis, the Greek government sold shares in the three largest creditors and largely got rid of participation in the fourth bank, opening a new stage for the European banking sector against the background of the sale of banks by government agencies after large-scale financial assistance.
Alpha Bank is a Greek bank with headquarters in Athens (Greece). The Bank operates 272 branches in Greece and 12 offices in Cyprus. Alpha Bank offers deposits, debit and credit cards, loans, leasing and investment products.
UniCredit S. p. A. is an Italian multinational banking group with headquarters in Milan (Italy). UniCredit is a backbone bank formed as a result of the merger of Credito Italiano and Unicredito in 1998.
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