Citadele bank acquires Baltic UniCredit Leasing company

RIGA - Citadele bank has acquired UniCredit Leasing company that is operating in the Baltic states, the bank's spokeswoman Kristine Mennika reported.

She said that Citadele bank has entered into a binding agreement with UniCredit S.p.A. to acquire UniCredit’s Baltic leasing operations through the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares in UniCredit Leasing, including its Estonian and Lithuanian branches, along with its 100 percent owned subsidiary UniCredit Insurance Broker, including its Estonian branch. The sum of the deal is not disclosed.

The deal will be concluded in the first quarter of 2020.

The acquisition of UniCredit’s Baltic leasing operations is consistent with Citadele’s long-term aim to become the leading financial services provider in the Baltics for both individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. Within this context, the leasing sector continues to be attractive thanks to a diversified customer base, strong underlying asset performance, and the potential to reach new clients, said the bank's board chairman Guntis Belavskis.

"Citadele believes UniCredit Leasing to be one of the best-established players in the region, with a leading presence in all three Baltic countries, an innovative and user-friendly product proposition, and robust operating and controlling systems. All these aspects are complementary with Citadele and will provide the Group with a viable platform for further growth across the relevant customer segments and markets,” he said.

The bank said that during the period between signing of the agreement and the completion of the acquisition, Citadele and UniCredit Leasing will continue to be competitors and to operate according to market practices and internal guidelines.

The bank also said that the deal should be approved by the competition watchdogs of the three Baltic states.

According to the bank UniCredit Leasing's portfolio in the Baltic states is more than EUR 850 million.

In 2018 UniCredit Leasing turned over EUR 24.891 million, while the company's profit was EUR 10.715 million, according to Firmas.lv business database. UniCredit Leasing was founded in 1999.

Citadele bank was the fourth largest bank in Latvia by assets in late September.