Press Release

On September 13, 2018 Luminor, one of the leading banks in the Baltics announced that it has entered into a new strategic corporate partnership with a consortium led by private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”). As part of the transaction, the consortium will acquire a 60% majority stake in the bank from its current owners Nordea Bank AB (“Nordea”) and DNB BANK ASA (“DNB”) for a cash consideration of €1 billion.

Nordea and DNB will retain an equal 20% equity stake in Luminor and will continue to support the bank with long term funding, expertise and ongoing representation on the Board of Directors. Additionally, Blackstone has entered into an agreement with Nordea to purchase their remaining 20% stake over the coming years.
Ellex together with Allen & Overy is advising Blackstone on the acquisition of the billion-euro stake in Luminor. The deal is the largest M&A transaction in Baltic history.

The Ellex team was led by partner Sven Papp and senior associate Alla Kuznetsova in Estonia, partners Zinta Jansons, Egons Pikelis and associate partner Valters Diure in Latvia, and partners Dovile Burgiene and Gediminas Reciunas in Lithuania.

Blackstone stated about the acquisition: “The transaction represents the largest majority stake acquisition of a universal bank by private equity in the last decade globally, and one of the largest M&A transactions in Baltic history”.

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms, which seeks to create a positive economic impact and long-term value for its investors, companies and the communities. Blackstone leads a consortium of investors comprising funds managed by Blackstone and other long-term institutional investors.

Luminor is the third largest bank in the Baltic region and was established as an independent Baltic bank in 2017 built on the Baltic businesses of Nordea and DNB and combining the experience and knowledge from the Nordic countries.