The European Commission approved on Wednesday, pursuant to the EU merger regulation, the takeover of the Romanian bank Alpha Bank Romania S.A. by the Italian banking group UniCredit S.p.A., informs a press release of the Community Executive.

According to the agreement announced in October 2023, UniCredit agreed to acquire the 9% stake held by the Greek Government in Alpha Bank, along with a majority stake in Alpha Bank’s Romanian subsidiary, which it intends to merge with its own business in Romania. Also, the two parties concluded a distribution partnership and a joint venture in the segment of pension savings products.

According to the Community Executive, the transaction is mainly related to various banking and financial services in Romania, such as retail banking and corporate banking, financial market services and other financial services.

“The Commission concluded that the transaction does not raise competition concerns, given the limited market positions of the companies resulting from the proposed transaction. The transaction was examined in the framework of a simplified merger review procedure”, it is stated in the the press release of the Community Executive quoted by Agerpres.

The merger between UniCredit Bank SA and Alpha Bank Romania SA will create the third largest bank on the local market, with a combined market share of 12% in terms of total assets.

Completion of the transaction is expected in 2024, subject to completion of a due diligence process, obtaining corporate approvals for the merger and all necessary regulatory approvals and agreements, including competition. Upon completion, Alpha Bank is expected to hold 9.9% of the combined entity’s share capital and receive a cash consideration of €300 million. The cash component remains subject to post due diligence adjustments related to asset quality, if applicable.