Intesa Sanpaolo SpA is in talks to buy Romania’s First Bank from its current owner JC Flowers & Co., Bloomberg reported, quoting anonymous sources with knowledge of the talks.
Private equity company JC Flowers bought the Romanian bank back in 2018, from Piraeus Bank, as Greek banks exited the Romanian market following the international economic crisis.
This was followed up by the purchase of Leumi Bank, which was integrated with the former Piraeus Bank Romania operations under the First Bank brand. The investor was also eyeing several other Romanian banks.
According to Bloomberg, the terms of the potential transaction currently being discussed could value the Romanian lender at around €200mn.
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