An international consortium which includes the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Invalda INVL and Horizon Capital and which acts via the UK-based company HEIM Partners, won an auction for the sale of stake in Moldova-Agroindbank (MAIB), Moldova’s largest commercial bank.
HEIM Partners offered 451.533 million Moldovan lei (23.031 million euros) for 41.09% of the shares of MAIB.
Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions, welcomed the determination of Moldova’s authorities to reform the banking sector. He said: “The government showed strong political will and resolve to clean up the banking sector. It took a brave decision to support the sale process of MAIB, which – no doubt – will contribute to better banking services and stronger investments to the Moldovan economy as a whole. By doing that, the government backed the National Bank of Moldova in its massive effort to consolidate the banking system and make it more transparent.”
“This transaction is a significant indirect investment in Moldova by a Lithuanian business. We are confident the international consortium will bring Western standards of governance to Moldova’s banking sector and contribute to the development of the financial industry, thereby also increasing the value of MAIB for benefit of all stakeholders, including the investors,” Invalda INVL President Darius Šulnis said.
The international consortium that is investing in MAIB will seek to ensure the highest standards of corporate governance, new technologies and effective structures to strengthen the performance of Moldova’s leading bank. MAIB is the largest commercial bank in Moldova. At the end of 2017, the bank had assets of 1.078 billion euros and equity of 180 million euros.
The EBRD and MD Partners, which is owned by Invalda INVL, each owns 37.5% of the shares of HEIM Partners, while the private equity manager Horizon Capital holds the remaining 25%.
Invalda INVL currently owns 100% of MD Partners. The INVL Special Opportunities Fund subfund operated by INVL Asset Management, an asset management company owned by Invalda INVL, has acquired convertible bonds of MD Partners for 4.475 million euros. On obtaining the permission of the Moldovan central bank, those bonds will be converted into shares of MD Partners, after which 48.64% of the shares of MD Partners will be owned by the INVL Special Opportunities Fund, and 51.36% – by Invalda INVL.
Invalda INVL is one leading asset management groups in the Baltic states. The group’s companies have more than EUR 650 million of assets under management, entrusted to them by over 190 thousand clients in Lithuania and Latvia as well as international investors.
The EBRD is a multilateral bank that promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 38 economies across three continents. It is owned by 67 countries, the EU and the EIB. The Bank is the largest institutional investor in Moldova and has invested over EUR 1.2 billion in over 120 projects in the country to date.
Horizon Capital is the leading private equity firm investing in Ukraine and Moldova through funds with a tenure of 25 years in the region. Backed by over 40 institutional investors from US and Europe, the firm has over $800 million under management. Horizon Capital is an active value-added investor, backing visionary entrepreneurs transforming the business landscape in the region.