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Report: Paritetbank becomes sole contender for purchase of Sberbank Ukraine

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Report: Paritetbank becomes sole contender for purchase of Sberbank Ukraine

Belarusian lender OJSC Paritetbank is now the only contender for the acquisition of PAO Sberbank of Russia unit PJSC Sberbank after Ukrainian businessman Valery Khoroshkovsky withdrew from the race, Kommersant reported March 12.

Acquisition documents for the purchase of Sberbank Ukraine were submitted to the Ukrainian central bank by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus — which owns an almost 100% stake in Paritetbank in December 2017, Kommersant noted.

The total value of the planned transaction will not exceed 4.6 billion Ukrainian hryvnia, the news report said, adding that the parties plan to structure the agreement in such a way that at least part of the 25 billion hryvnia worth of loans provided by Sberbank of Russia to its Ukrainian unit could be returned to the Russian parent via its Belarusian subsidiary OJSC BPS-Sberbank.

Ukrainian sanctions, prolonged in March 2018, ban local lenders owned by Russian state banks from transferring capital to parents and affiliated parties outside of Ukraine, but they would not apply to transactions between Paritetbank and BPS-Sberbank, according to the newspaper.

However, the potential purchase could face problems with gaining the approval of the Ukrainian central bank as Viktor Sheiman, who heads the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, is under strict EU and U.S. sanctions in connection with the disappearance of two Belarusian opposition politicians, a businessman and a journalist in 1999 and 2000.

As of March 12, US$1 was equivalent to 26.01 Ukrainian hryvnia.