UniCredit has raised its stake in Greece’s Alpha Bank to approximately 29.5%, following approval from the European Central Bank.
This development marks the latest in a series of strategic investments by the Italian bank to expand its influence in Alpha Bank.
Earlier stake increases occurred in August and May of this year, building on UniCredit’s initial decision in October 2023 to acquire a 9% stake in Alpha Bank and purchase its Romanian subsidiary.
In May, the lender sought regulatory approval to increase its stake in Alpha Bank to as much as 29.9% after having doubled its investment in the Greek bank.
“The capital impact in case of the potential full conversion of the financial instruments to reach a direct stake of c.29.5% remains at around -80 bps of CET1 ratio as previously communicated,” UniCredit stated.
After obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, UniCredit announced that it will equity consolidate 9.8% of its current stake.
The Italian bank mentioned that the timing and decision to convert and consolidate the remaining stake in Alpha Bank, which is held through derivative financial instruments, will be determined later.
This decision “will be made in the future assessing the trade-off between return and profit contribution on one side and capital impact and distributions on the other.”
UniCredit plans to expand collaboration with Alpha Bank in areas such as payments, financing services, advisory, capital markets, asset management, and insurance products.
Authorities in Greece have embraced UniCredit’s involvement, a stark contrast to the resistance the bank has encountered in other parts of Europe, reported Bloomberg.
Andrea Orcel, the bank’s 62-year-old CEO, has been notably active in pursuing acquisitions across Europe in recent years.
Despite facing governmental hurdles with his major projects involving Commerzbank AG in Germany and Banco BPM SpA in Italy, the investment in Alpha Bank stands out as a positive development. Both the management and the Greek government have shown a warm reception to the Italian investor.
