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EBRD partners with Intesa in Russia small business bank
Part of shareholding in KMB, founded by EBRD in 1998, sold to Italy’s Banca Intesa
Italy’s Banca Intesa has acquired a controlling stake of 75 per cent minus one
share in Russia’s leading small business bank, KMB, in which the EBRD holds
the remaining 25 per cent plus one share. The Russian bank will be known as
Intesa KMB once the takeover is completed.
Banca Intesa bought out Soros Economic Development Fund (36.78 per cent), DEG
Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (18.36 per cent) and
Triodos Bank (Netherlands) (8.09 per cent). It also bought a small portion of
the EBRD’s holding (11.78 per cent of KMB). Investment bank Renaissance
Capital acted in the deal as exclusive financial adviser to all selling
shareholders.
The EBRD, which founded KMB after the 1998 Russian financial crisis, remains
strongly committed to the Russian bank. It welcomes the entry of Banca Intesa
into KMB’s capital as a strategic partner with the financial means and
expertise needed to expand this niche bank’s role and its reach into the
regions of Russia.
KMB has played a crucial role in the expansion of the EBRD’s Russia Small
Business Fund (RSBF) lending programme in Russia, which has advanced $1.97
billion to more than 230,000 borrowers since it was launched in 1994. In 2004
alone, the EBRD committed $108 million for on-lending to micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises through seven Russian banks, four of them regional
ones.
The EBRD has long-term loans of just over $60 million outstanding to KMB and
intends to continue supporting the bank’s important work. The EBRD will be
Banca Intesa’s sole partner under KMB’s new ownership structure and will
retain two seats on the board of Intesa KMB.
KMB is the successor bank to the Russian Project Finance Bank founded by the
EBRD in 1992. After the 1998 Russian financial crisis, the Russian partners of
this bank exited its capital. The EBRD then injected new capital and
re-founded it as a bank specialised in lending to micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises. KMB is now the foreign-owned bank with the largest
regional network in Russia. It has eight branches and 47 sub-branches in 24 of
Russia’s 88 regions.
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