WOG owners prepare sale of Bizbank: AMCU has already approved change of control

Another M&A deal is being prepared on the Ukrainian banking market. The owners of Bank of Investments and Savings (Bizbank), among which are co-owners of WOG filling station network, may sell the financial institution. A Ukrainian FinTech company has shown interest in the bank, and the Antimonopoly Committee has already granted permits for the change of control.

Forbes Ukraine reports on the preparation of the deal. According to the publication, Bizbank already has a specific contender from the financial market.

Official documents of the Antimonopoly Committee confirm that the bank acquisition process has already moved to the regulatory stage. On August 13, AMCU passed two separate decisions, which allowed two Ukrainian citizens to acquire control over Bank of Investments and Savings. The names of potential buyers are not disclosed in public documents.

Thus, official AMCU data does not yet allow to establish which FinTech company is vying for the bank. According to Forbes Ukraine, it is a Ukrainian player of the financial technology market that is interested in the asset.

Bank belongs to WOG co-owners and partners

The largest shareholders of Bizbank remain businessmen associated with the former "Continuum" group and the WOG filling station network. Serhiy Lahur owns 24.9% of shares, Stepan Ivakhiv has 23.3%. Ivan Kyselov holds 14.91%, Inna Moskalenko – 9.38%, Andriy Popov – 9.8%, Oleh Haluschak – 8%, with 5.2% belonging to the company "Euroreserve". As of September 7, SMIDA still showed this shareholder structure, meaning that the change of owners is formally not yet completed.

Serhiy Lahur and Stepan Ivakhiv are also co-owners of WOG, one of the largest networks of filling stations in Ukraine.

NBU approval is required to close the deal

The permit of the Antimonopoly Committee is only one of the stages of a banking M&A deal. Persons planning to acquire a significant stake in the bank must undergo a separate approval procedure with the National Bank. The NBU checks the ownership structure of potential investors, their financial standing, business reputation, and sources of funds.

Therefore, the AMCU permits obtained in August do not mean that the sale of Bizbank is completed.

If the deal is closed, Bizbank may become the next Ukrainian financial institution to change owners amid the revival of the banking M&A market. It was previously announced that the Ukrainian subsidiary of the French group Credit Agricole agreed to acquire the bank "Lviv".

Source: Forbes Ukraine, AMCU - Decision No.1688, AMCU - Decision No.1587