Slovenia's NLB bank finalizes talks to buy Serbia's Komercijalna Banka

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Slovenia’s largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) and the Serbian government have finalized talks over the acquisition of the Komercijalna Banka, country’s second largest lender, The Reuters reported on February 25.

Last December, the NLB placed the best bid in the sale of Komercijalna Banka and entered talks with the government over the purchase of 83.23% of bank’s ordinary shares.

Vecernje Novosti reports that Komercijalna Banka has been sold to NLB for around EUR 450 million. The daily also writes that they have been confirmed that NLB has bought the largest Serbian state bank – Komercijalna Banka.

NLB, which operates in Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro, gave no immediate comment. Officials of the Komercijalna Banka and the Finance Ministry could not be immediately reached for a comment.

NLB is Slovenia’s largest bank that has been privatized over the past two years. The government still controls 25% of the bank and plans to keep this stake in the long-term.

Last year Serbia bought 34.58% of Komercijalna from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to secure ownership of 83.23% of stakes in preparation for its privatization.