PPF Group authorized to acquire Telenor Bank

The Commission for Protection of Competition of Serbia has announced that it has authorized PPF Group to acquire Telenor Bank, a member of Telenor Group.

As the Commission says, Telenor Bank became a member of Telenor Group in 2013, following the acquisition of KBC Bank in Serbia.

As said, Telenor Bank provides services primarily to Telenor Group clients in Serbia. The portfolio of Telenor Bank has more than 390,000 clients, and the bank managed assets worth EUR 126 million at the end of 2017.

In estimating the effects of the concentration, based on the notice submitted, the Commission determined that PPF Group had not been present in the banking market of Serbia and hadn't realized income in the market prior to taking over Telenor Bank.

PPF is the biggest investment group in Central and Eastern Europe, which invests in various sectors, such as banking and financial services, telecommunications, real estate and biotechnology, and it operates in 22 countries on three continents and owns property worth over EUR 38 billion.

The investment group has already taken over Telenor's operations in CEE, that is, in Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary and Bulgaria, at the price of EUR 2.8 billion.

PPF Group N.V. Netherlands

Yettel Bank ad Beograd

Komisija za zaštitu konkurencije Srbije

TELENOR ASA

PPF Group

Telenor Bank

Commission for Protection of Competition

Telenor

Telenor Group

KBC Bank