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Report: Sberbank makes another attempt to divest Ukrainian unit

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Report: Sberbank makes another attempt to divest Ukrainian unit

Three potential buyers are eyeing PAO Sberbank of Russia's Ukrainian unit Sberbank JSC, Kommersant reported May 25.

Ukrainian businessmen Oleksandr Yaroslavsky and Viktor Pinchuk, as well as a U.K. investment fund all showed interest in acquiring Sberbank Ukraine and already sent their offers to the Russian parent, but have not yet submitted sale documents to the Ukrainian central bank, the news report said.

Sberbank denied information on talks with the potential buyers, but the lender's CEO Herman Gref was recently cited by local media outlets as saying the lender will make its fourth attempt to divest its Ukrainian unit and hopes it will be successful this time, Kommersant noted.

Sberbank decided to sell the unit after Ukrainian authorities introduced sanctions against local subsidiaries of Russian state-controlled banks in March 2017.

Yaroslavsky was already involved in negotiations to buy Sberbank Ukraine in the past, but the talks fell through. Belarusian investor Viktor Prokopenya and Belarus-based OJSC Paritetbank, as well as a consortium of investors including Latvian lender JSC Norvik Banka also showed interest in Sberbank Ukraine, but withdrew from the transaction or were rejected by the Ukrainian regulator.

The chances of the regulator approving the potential sale are higher this time, as the buyers are not connected to Russian businesses, Kommersant noted.

The Ukrainian central bank's deputy head Kateryna Rozhkova said earlier in May that the regulator does not currently see any potential buyers for the local units of Russian state banks and added that curtailing their activities would be the only "civilized way" for them to leave the Ukrainian market.

Sberbank managed to sell its other Ukrainian unit, PJSC VS Bank, to Ukrainian conglomerate TAS Group in December 2017.