MONETA Money Bank is set to acquire Czech challenger bank Air Bank and certain other assets from Home Credit Group, a subsidiary of PPF Financial, for CZK19.75bn (around €767m).
Image: MONETA Money Bank to acquire Czech challenger bank Air Bank. Photo: courtesy of Jiří Sedláček/Commons.wikimedia.org.
In this connection, the Czech-based Moneta Money Bank has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Home Credit Group, which is a consumer finance lender headquartered in the Netherlands.
The MoU for the potential acquisitions also includes Home Credit’s Czech and Slovak businesses.
The transaction between Moneta Money Bank and Home Credit Group is expected to establish a major Czech retail bank that will help in accelerating overall growth, and also heightened profitability potential of the combining entities.
Home Credit Group executive chairman Jiří Šmejc said: “We have been building Air Bank as a customer-centric business which has been successfully disrupting the local banking landscape by delivering a true customer-centric culture.
“Combining Air Bank with Moneta, a business which I personally highly respect, will further increase our ability to disrupt and bring outstanding value to customers, employees and shareholders. The combination has enormous potential and I am convinced that jointly we are able to generate enormous value.”
The merger, which is likely to result in the creation of the third largest network in the Czech Republic, is estimated to double the customer base from one million to two million. The enlarged Czech retail bank will boast of 237 branches and 1,005 ATMs.
Moneta Money Bank believes the acquisition to consolidate its retail branch network further with the addition of 35 modern and well-placed Air Bank branches and 354 well-located Air Bank ATMs.
Moneta Money Bank CEO and management board chairman Tomáš Spurný said: “The combination of these highly complementary businesses will lead to the creation of a leading Czech retail bank and the second largest consumer lender in the Czech Republic.
“It will see the acceleration of Moneta’s strategy, strengthening our competitive position for the future. This will see us better able to serve our customer base and increase our growth rate and returns for our shareholders.”
Subject to regulatory approvals, the deal is anticipated to be completed on 1 July 2019.