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BNP Paribas Buy Digital Bank From UniCredit In Bid To Expand Germany Footprint

Tom Burroughes Group Editor London 4 August 2014

BNP Paribas Buy Digital Bank From UniCredit In Bid To Expand Germany Footprint

BNP Paribas, which announced second-quarter results last week, and Italy’s UniCredit Bank, have agreed for the French firm to buy 81.39 per cent of DAB Bank.

BNP Paribas, which announced second-quarter results last week, and Italy’s UniCredit Bank, have agreed for the French firm to buy 81.39 per cent of DAB Bank, valuing all of this digital banking business, on a 100 per cent basis, at €435 million ($582 million).

BNP Paribas will buy the business from UniCredit at a price of €4.78 per share, a statement said.

“Germany is a key market for BNP Paribas' expansion in Europe, committing additional means and workforce with strong growth targets in terms of revenues,” the bank said.  

“This acquisition will give BNP Paribas a strong boost in the development of its digital banking and brokerage business in Europe. It will enable the Group to nearly double the number of its clients in this segment in Germany reaching 1.4 million clients and €58 billion [assets under management],” the Paris-listed banking group continued.  

The execution of final documentation remains subject to approval by UniCredit Bank AG's supervisory board and will include customary regulatory and antitrust approval conditions, the statement continued.

The statement said DAB Bank is “a major player in the online securities-related sector in Germany” and “has been experiencing rapid growth in its direct banking business since 2012”. DAB Bank is based in Germany, expanding its business with private clients, as well as via its B2B offer to independent financial advisors. DAB Bank operates in Germany and Austria, where it has 567,000 and 67,000 clients, respectively.

DAB’s total deposits reached €5 billion and volume of securities accounts €30 billion.

The acquisition is “fully in line” with its 2014-2016 business development plan, BNP Paribas said.

BNP Paribas’s report of its results is here. The results, as expected, reflected the negative effect of a huge fine imposed by the US on the lender for breaches of sanctions against blacklisted nations, such as Iran and Sudan.

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