The Austrian banking group Raiffeisen has bought the Czech bank eBanka outright for E130 million, according to local media reports.
eBanka was previously owned by the insurance group Ceska Pojistovna, the CTK news agency reports, but once the deal is approved by regulators, the combined Raiffeisen Bank-eBanka operation will enjoy a 3.2% share of the local banking market.
eBanka is a pure play retail bank with around 100,000 clients in the country. CTK reports that Raiffeisen sees the acquisition as giving extra impetus to its retail banking operation in the Czech Republic.