Photo from UNIAN
Belarusian businessman Viktor Prokopenya has withdrawn his application earlier submitted to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) for the purchase of the Russian Sberbank's Ukrainian-based subsidiary, according to the Russian news agency RBC.
"We decided to withdraw from the NBU the application for the purchase of Ukrainian PJSC Sberbank in order to concentrate on our other investments and projects that we are working on," Prokopenya told RBC.
On Thursday, August 3, the Russian news agency TASS also reported on Prokopenya’s withdrawal, referring to its sources in the financial market.
Read alsoRussian Sberbank's Ukraine subsidiary earns UAH 44 mln in profit in Q1 2017Commenting on the decision to abandon the deal, the businessman noted that he still considered the purchase of Sberbank's Ukrainian subsidiary as a "good investment opportunity," but would prefer to focus on his current projects.
"The projects we are currently dealing with are the best investment nowadays," he said.
Prokopenya told RBC on July 28, 2017, he was still interested in the deal after it became known that the NBU rejected the application on acquisition of Russian Sberbank's subsidiary submitted by the consortium of the Latvian Norvik Banka (shareholder Grigory Guselnikov) and the Belarusian company of Said Gutseriev (son of the major owner of RussNeft and Safmar Group). "At the moment we are waiting for the regulators' decision regarding our application," he said then.
According to the NBU' press service, the reason for rejection of papers submitted by the consortium of Guselnikov and Gutseriev was their failure to submit documents necessary for the verification of compliance with the Ukrainian legislation requirements. The potential buyers could not prove to the NBU that they had enough funds and confirm their origin, a source familiar with the situation told RBC.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) had received for its approval a package of documents from Mr Viktor Prokopenya, who has dual citizenship of from a citizen of Belarus and Cyprus, indicating the intention to acquire a 100% stake in the Russian Sberbank's Ukrainian-based subsidiary, according to the regulator.
Read alsoNBU receives another bid for acquisition of Russian Sberbank's subsidiary in UkraineEarlier, on March 27, the Russian Sberbank announced the conclusion of an agreement on the sale of a 100% stake in a subsidiary bank in Ukraine to a consortium of investors. Subsequently, the National Bank of Ukraine reported receiving packages of documents from a citizen of the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation, Grigory Guselnikov, for the approval of the intention to acquire a 22.5% stake in Sberbank's subsidiary, and from a citizen of the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation, Said Gutseriev, for buying a 77.5% stake in the bank.
Read alsoUkraine blocks sale of subsidiaries of Russia's Sberbank, VEB – mediaAccording to the NBU, Prokopenya intended to become the owner of a 100% stake in Sberbank's Ukrainian subsidiary through the Belarusian Paritetbank, while the regulator was considering his documents.
At the same time, the National Bank noted it had not yet completed verification of documents submitted by the previous investors, Mr Guselnikov and Mr Gutseriev.