UniCredit says to merge Romanian unit with Alpha Bank Romania

Italian bank UniCredit said it expected to be able to merge the Romanian business of Greece's Alpha Bank into its own local subsidiary in the second half of next year, after closing the acquisition on Monday.

UniCredit and Alpha said in a joint statement they had finalized a deal they struck a year ago, which made UniCredit the biggest investor in the Greek rival, having received all necessary approvals.

In October 2023, UniCredit acquired from Greece's bailout fund a 9% stake in Alpha. It also bought from Alpha 90% of the Greek group's Romanian subsidiary, Alpha Bank Romania, for 255 million euros in cash plus a 9.9% stake in UniCredit Romania.

The merger of Alpha Bank Romania into UniCredit Bank Romania will create the third banking group by assets in the country, UniCredit and Alpha said. [Reuters]