Karanovic & Nikolic advises on the Acquisition of Telenor Banka
August, 2017 - Serbia
Karanovic & Nikolic advised River Styxx Capital on the acquisition of Telenor Banka. The companies signed an agreement by which the Bulgaria-based investment fund will acquire 85% of Telenor's shares in the Serbian online bank. Under this agreement of strategic partnership, the Norwegian telecommunications group will keep 15% of its shares in Telenor Banka.
By investing into this partnership, River Styxx Capital entered the Serbian market – which it sees as offering attractive growth prospects. The company's vision is to provide accessible and convenient financial services for the whole of Southeast Europe.
The Karanovic & Nikolic team - led by Darko Jovanovic, Ivan Nonkovic and Mina Sreckovic, performed the due diligence ofTelenorBanka, as well as structuring of the transaction, drafting and negotiating the transaction documents.
Telenor established the online bank in Serbia in 2014. Telenor Banka signed more 300,000 customers to use its services – which include current and savings accounts, cash loans and credit cards. According to data from Serbia's National Bank, it is the 25th largest bank in Serbia in terms of assets.
The strategic partnership with River Styxx Capital will support funding and further grow the business – which will be focused in the future on building new innovative services and growing their customer base. The company will continue to invest significant efforts and resources in order to maintain its leadership position – being the only Internet-based, mobile-first bank in Southeast Europe.
