UniCredit to Sell About 12% in Turkish Bank Yapi Kredi

   By Cristina Roca 
 

UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI) said Wednesday that it will place a part of its stake in Turkey's Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi AS (YKBNK.IS) after becoming a direct shareholder in the bank following the completion of a deal aimed at simplifying its structure.

The Italian bank said it has launched a placement for shares representing around 12% of Yapi Kredi's capital via accelerated bookbuilding.

The move follows Wednesday's closing of a deal through which Italy's largest bank simultaneously became a direct shareholder in Yapi Kredi, in which it previously held shares via a joint venture, and cut its stake in it down to 31.9%.

The Istanbul-listed lender has a market value of 25.6 billion Turkish lira ($4.28 billion).

Unicredit's move to further reduce its shareholding in Yapi Kredi is part of the bank's continued strategy to optimize its capital allocation, the company said.

Analysts believe UniCredit is preparing to potentially exit Turkey altogether.

Write to Cristina Roca at [e-mail]; @_cristinaroca

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2020 12:44 ET (17:44 GMT)

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