HSBC Bank has decided to buy Demirbank, a Turkish bank in state receivership, in a deal producing a balance sheet of $1.35 billion, reported the Turkish Daily News on Saturday.
HSBC said in a written statement that it would acquire Demirbank's legal entity, selected assets and liabilities and merge it with its Turkish banking arm HSBC Bank A.S.
The merged entity will have a total balance sheet of $2.35 billion and $250 million capital, said the statement.
Turkey's banking watchdog on Thursday said it had found HSBC's bid eligible among four competitors including UniCredito Italiano, a local consortium led by media conglomerate Dogan Holding, and the Turkish Armed Forces Assistance Fund.
The Banking Supervision and Regulation Agency said it aimed to complete negotiations with HSBC in two months, after signing a confidentiality agreement with the bank.
HSBC submitted its offer for Demirbank on June 27, but was already in talks with the former management before the bank was seized during a financial crisis in November, said the paper.
HSBC said it expected the transaction to be completed by this September 30.
The statement said HSBC had gained considerable experience in the Turkish market and that it was aiming to accelerate its expansion in Turkey through the Demirbank acquisition.
The bank added that it was hopeful about Turkey's long-term plans.
HSBC Bank Plc. is the banking arm of and 100 percent owned by HSBC Holding Plc. It has 6,500 offices in 79 countries and total assets of $674 billion as of December 31, 2000, the paper said – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
