Upon the closure of the sale of NKBM, Mr Marko Jazbec, the President of the Management Board of Slovenian Sovereign Holding, said: "We are delighted that following an extensive sale process, Nova KBM has two distinguished, responsible and experienced new owners who are capable of ensuring further growth and development of NKBM and providing a supportive platform for economy in Slovenia. Apollo, a leading global alternative investment manager, with a track record of transforming businesses into best-in class operators, paired with EBRD's commitment to progress and economic stability, has brought the skills necessary to transform the Slovenian banking system.”
Commenting on future plans for the bank, Mr Gernot Lohr Senior Partner of Apollo said: "We are pleased that the sale process of one of Slovenia’s best financial institutions has now been completed. As the new owners, together with EBRD, we look forward to taking a leading role in the banks’ future growth and development and building it into both a national and regional champion. We look forward to working with the management team and the bank’s talented staff during this next step in Nova KBM’s story.”
Mr Nick Tesseyman, Managing Director for Financial Institutions at EBRD added: “The EBRD is very pleased to announce the closing of our investment in NKBM alongside Apollo today. We see strong potential for the bank to further expand its operations and to become a benchmark in terms of excellence for the local banking sector. Re-energising the financial sector is crucial for the whole economy and our goal is to translate the recent return to growth into a long-term and sustainable development.”
Mr Robert Senica, the President of the Management Board of Nova KBM added: "Together with my colleagues, we look forward to what lies ahead for NKBM under the aegis of the new owners. The effects of the consolidation and restructuring process which the bank underwent over the last three years is already visible. The Bank has resumed profitability, expanded its lending and saving operations and enjoyed increased trust from customers. Further investments in internal banking sources, the development of products and services, the introduction of new technologies, as well as the introduction of modern and digital solutions will bring even greater benefits to our clients and other stakeholders."
In line with corporate governance procedures, the first General Meeting of Shareholders of Nova KBM headed by the new owners will be organised today. The current Supervisory Board resigned with effect as of today and at the General Meeting Gernot Lohr, Manfred Puffer, Andrea Moneta, Michele Rabà, Alexander Saveliev and Andrej Fatur will be appointed as new Supervisory Board Members. At today's press conference, Mr. Gernot Lohr thanked the previous Supervisory Board Members chaired by Mr. Peter Kukovica for their commitment and hard work during the recent complex activities in the restructuring and consolidation process of the Bank.
The audited results of the Bank for the 2015 fiscal year show that Nova KBM generated profit and the trend of strong operational performance continues into this year. Further detail regarding operations can be found here.
Today marked the completion of the process of the sale of the 100% shareholding of Nova KBM d.d. Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, Apollo) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) fulfilled all requirements stated in the Sale and Purchase Agreement signed on 30 June 2015 and paid the purchase price in the sum of EUR 250 million. The process of the transfer of shares and the subscription for ownership interest has also been implemented. Nova KBM is now a private public limited company. The new owners, funds managed by affiliates of Apollo and EBRD, plan for the operations and management of the bank to be even more successful for the benefit of everybody who interacts with the bank.
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