VB-Leasing International, a leasing business venture between Oesterreichische Volksbanken and VR-Leasing Aktiengesellschaft, has sold its leasing business in the Czech Republic to GE Money Bank for an undisclosed amount.
In a statement Volksbanken said GE Money Bank, which has its headquarters in Prague, will take over 100% of the funding of the company at par (including accrued interest). VB Leasing Czech Republic, with total assets of about 450 million, is one of the five largest leasing companies in the Czech Republic.
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Ithuba Capital, the Schönherr law firm, and Deloitte acted as advisors for the VB-Leasing.
The European Commission approved two tranches of Austrian taxpayer-funded state aid for Volksbanken, totalling 1.35bn in 2012. According to Reuters, Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling has said that there would be no further Austrian state assistance, and as as a result Volksbanken said it would wind itself down at the start of October.
Volksbank’s said its winding down will see it dissolve into nine regional banks and three specialist institutions; it blames its sales as the reason it failed the European Central Bank stress tests.
In September VBAG sold VB Leasing Poland and VB Leasing Romania to the Polish company Getin Holding. VB-Leasing International still has companies in Slovenia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, for which the sales process remain ongoing.
