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UniCredit said on Monday it will book a EUR 200 million charge after clinching a deal to sell its Ukraine business to ABH Holdings (ABHH) in exchange for a minority stake in the Luxembourg-based investment group, according to Reuters.
Italian bank UniCredit, a market leader in central and eastern Europe (CEE), has long flagged the sale of JSC Ukrsotsbank but the process had been held up by the crisis in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
In August, Italy's biggest bank by assets started three months of exclusive talks with ABHH, which is part of the empire of Russia's Alfa Group.
As part of the agreement, UniCredit will receive new shares issued by ABHH, giving it 9.9% of the investment company.
Under the deal UniCredit will be able to appoint one board member at the Alfa Group unit and will have the right to trigger an IPO of ABHH or sell its stake to ABHH after five years.
Read alsoAlfa Group enters talks on acquisition of UniCredit's Ukrainian subsidiaryABHH shareholders include Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman and his business partner German Khan, among others.
Read alsoUkrainian banks categorized according to new criteriaUkraine was UniCredit's only loss making country in the CEE region in 2014 and UniCredit CEO Federico Ghizzoni had committed to selling it as part of a series of disposals.