UniCredit completes acquisition of 90.1% stake in Alpha Bank Romania
Italian banking group UniCredit has completed the acquisition of a majority 90.1% stake in Alpha Bank Romania from Alpha Services and Holdings, the parent company of Athens-headquartered Alpha Bank.
UniCredit expands presence in Romania
The deal will see Alpha Services and Holdings receive €255 million in cash plus 9.9% of the share capital of UniCredit’s Romanian subsidiary, UniCredit Bank Romania.
UniCredit says it will now commence a “gradual integration” of Alpha Bank Romania into UniCredit Group, culminating in the merger of Alpha Bank Romania into UniCredit Bank Romania through absorption, which the company says is “estimated to take place in the second part of 2025”.
UniCredit has brought in its current head of retail banking in Romania, Antoaneta Curteanu, to guide the merger as executive president of Alpha Bank Romania.
She succeeds Sergiu Oprescu, who is set to join UniCredit Bank Romania’s supervisory board alongside two unnamed designees from Alpha Services and Holdings.
To support Alpha Bank Romania’s wholesale division, Andrei Bratu, who has served as UniCredit Bank Romania’s executive vice president of risk management since 2019, is stepping into the role of executive vice president.
The sale will not result in any “immediate changes” for Alpha Bank Romania customers, UniCredit says.
The company adds that the merger will make UniCredit Bank Romania the third largest banking group in the country by total assets, with a combined market share of 12%.
UniCredit has been increasing its capital allocation in Eastern Europe by 4% annually since 2022, in line with its UniCredit Unlocked strategy, from which it expects to receive returns in excess of 16% this year.
This strategy also cites plans to increase UniCredit’s footprint within neighbouring Central Europe and Germany, highlighted by the group’s acquisition of a 9% stake in Frankfurt-headquartered Commerzbank in September.
