Raiffeisen Bank International AG is approaching an agreement to acquire the Romanian operations of Garanti BBVA, reported Bloomberg.
The Austrian bank has reportedly proposed a purchase price of about 1.2 times the book value for the unit, which would amount to approximately €550m ($640m) based on last year’s financial data.
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Negotiations are said to be well advanced, though there remains a possibility of delays or that the discussions could end without a deal, the sources said.
Both BBVA and Raiffeisen have declined to comment.
One source told Reuters that paying above book value is “unavoidable given the limited number of takeover targets on offer,” adding, “It’s currently a seller’s market.”
Garanti BBVA, listed in Istanbul, stated in a stock exchange filing that it is assessing various possibilities for its assets and subsidiaries and is open to considering offers for a possible transaction, but emphasised that no final decision has been made.
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By GlobalDataAt the end of January, Raiffeisen Bank CEO Johann Strobl noted that the bank maintained “a buffer for acquisitions”.
While he did not address rumours about interest in Garanti BBVA Romania specifically, Strobl commented that several markets are considered appealing by Raiffeisen, with Romania among them.
Raiffeisen recently reported a 48% increase in preliminary 2025 consolidated profit, attributed to higher loan growth.
The deal would represent a significant development for Raiffeisen following unsuccessful attempts to divest its Russian unit and around €2bn in losses from legal cases related to foreign-currency loans issued by its former Polish business.
