Montenegro: Schoenherr advises Agri Europe Cyprus on agreed acquisition of 74.94 % of shares in Hipotekarna Banka

On 9 December 2024, Agri Europe Cyprus entered into share purchase agreements with the goal of purchasing 7,674,285 shares in Hipotekarna Banka A.D. Podgorica. The shares represent approximately 74.94 % of the share capital of Hipotekarna Banka. The agreed price per share is EUR 9.77. The closing of the share acquisition – which is expected in the coming months – is subject to all necessary regulatory approvals being obtained from the Central Bank of Montenegro and antitrust authorities, as well as other customary closing conditions.

Following the completion of the share acquisition, Agri Europe Cyprus will, in concert with several selected shareholders, launch a mandatory takeover offer in accordance with Montenegrin capital markets regulations.

Agri Europe Cyprus is a leading financial holding company in Southeast Europe with the following financial institution subsidiaries: AIK Banka, AIK Leasing and Eurobank Direktna in Serbia, Gorenjska Banka and GB Leasing in Slovenia, and M&V Investment. AEC Group is a growth-oriented banking group with over 3,000 employees providing a broad range of financial solutions to all customer groups. As of 30 September 2024, the AEC portfolio included EUR 8.5bln of total assets, total net loans of EUR 5.9bln and a stable deposit portfolio of EUR 7bln, supported by a strong capital base. 

Hipotekarna Banka has long been recognised as a local leader in financial services innovations, digitalisation and meeting the needs of clients across the mass, premium and business segments. 

The Schoenherr team is led by Matija Vojnović (partner) and Vojimir Kurtić (partner), and further includes Zoran Šoljaga (partner), Petar Vučinić (attorney at law), Luka Milošević (associate), Stefan Dobraš (associate), Željko Loci (associate) and Dušan Obradović (of counsel).

Miloš Komnenić from Komnenic & Partners is advising the corporate, family and individual sellers, including Mr Todorović and his corporate affiliates as existing shareholders.