On August 1, 2024, Filip & Company and CMS announced that Banca Transilvania's purchase of OTP Bank Romania (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 21, 2024) has now closed.
As previously reported, CMS has advised the OTP Group on the binding agreement to sell its stake in OTP Bank Romania and all subsidiaries to Banca Transilvania for a combined purchase price of EUR 347.5 million. Filip & Company advised Banca Transilvania.
The transaction includes OTP Bank Romania, OTP Leasing, and OTP Asset Management and remains contingent on regulatory approval.
According to CMS, the deal marks OTP Group’s full exit from the Romanian market, after 20 years, to local market leader Banca Transilvania. "We are delighted to have navigated the OTP Group’s sale of its Romanian business to BT," commented CMS OTP Group Client Relationship Partner Eva Talmacsi. "This represents a pivotal moment in OTP Group’s strategic realignment and highlights our commitment to supporting them through challenging transactions. OTP Bank Romania has played a vital role in the local banking industry for two decades, and we are proud to have been part of this journey.”
Since 2004, the OTP Bank banking group has been the majority shareholder of OTP Bank Romania. Operating in Romania as a universal bank, OTP Bank Romania currently serves approximately 420,000 retail customers and more than 22,000 corporate/SME customers, thanks to its 1,800 employees and a network of 96 branches.
BT is the largest bank in Romania and South-Eastern Europe, CMS reported, covering all customer segments and business lines in the financial sector. It has more than 4 million customers, approximately 10,000 employees, and a strong branch network countrywide.
The CMS team included Talmacsi and Partners Rodica Manea, Horea Popescu, and Cristina Reichmann, Counsels Raluca Ionescu and Claudia Nagy, Tax Director Andrei Tercu, and Associates Simona Strava and Cristina Ciomos.
The Filip & Company team included Partners Alina Stancu Birsan, Cristina Filip, Alexandra Manciulea, Catalin Suliman, Eliza Baias, Olga Nita, George Trantea, Ioana Roman, and Cristina Tudoran, Senior Associates Rebecca Marina, Camelia Iantuc, Simona Ungureanu, Alin Grapa, and Diana Gavra, and Associates Marius Gheldiu, Raluca Bita, Andrei Banescu, Daria Olteanu, Monica Popa, Valeriu Iliescu, Ionut Blidar, Tudor Dobinda, Ruxandra Tenea, Madalina Cristache, Teodor Trandafir, Cezara Diaconescu, Malina Palade, and Alina Savastre.
