Egyptian billionaire among list of investors in €74 million bank take over sale

The investors of a 74 million euro take over of Latvian bank Citadele have been revealed.

They include former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Paul Volckerand and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, LETA reports.

The investors will acquire 52.6 percent of Citadele shares. Meanwhile, U.S firm Ripplewood Advisors LLC will take 22.4 percent. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will keep its 25 percent stake in "Citadele".

A sales agreement was signed on November 5 between the Latvian Privatization Agency, a group of 12 international investors and Ripplewood Advisors LLC for the purchase of state shares in joint-stock Citadele in the amount of EUR 74 million.

The Citadele sale agreement stipulates that Ripplewood Holdings will be able to sell the shares in two years time.
The agreement terms stipulate that the investors and EBRD will increase the bank's capital by 10 million euros.

The deal will be fully covered in the first quarter of 2015, when the respective surveillance institutions will announce their approval.

Other investors in the Citadele bank take over include Managing Director of Allen & Company Stanley Shuman, co-founder of U.S. investment company Cramer, Roshenthal & McGlynn, Gerald Cramer, Canadian fund Vealhouse Capital Management, Director of Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs,, Graham T. Allison, Chairman of Sustainable Development Technologies of Canada James Balsillie, former President of Copeland Corporation Matthew O. Diggs, former Chief Information Officer of Shinsei Bank Dhananjaya Dvivedi, EMS Capital LP representative Edmond Safra, Managing Partner at BlueMountain Capital James Staley, Chairman of Fund Management and Wolfensohn&Company, LLC James Wolfensohn, and company Baupost Group.

(Edited by Rayyan Sabet-Parry)