The management of Carpatica Commercial Bank (BCC) has been informed by a group of shareholders on the fact that they concluded on September 4 an agreement with JCF III Europe Holdings LP “for the purpose of selling an indirect shareholding of 25 percent in the bank”.
The investment fund in question is advised by the American investment firm J.C. Flowers & Co.
The seller group of the Romanian financial institution includes businessman Ilie Carabulea – bank’s founder, and his major partners Dana Cojocaru, Nicolae Lupu, Corneliu Tanase and Atlassib transport company, also controlled by Carabulea, according to BCC report sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).
Also, JCF III Europe Holdings will take over the unsubscribed shares by shareholders through private placement with a preemption right on issued shares by bank’s capital increase. Most likely, Ilie Carabulea and his partners will not exercise their right of first refusal and J.C. Flowers will get the majority shareholder of the bank.
“The indirect acquisition of the shares by JCF III Europe Holdings LP will be finalized after the completion of certain conditions precedent, such as the approval of the National Bank of Romania (BNR),” the report shows.
J.C. Flowers is a Wall Street firm, acting on behalf of several investment funds and has investments of USD 14 billion in companies in 14 countries.
In recent months, Ilie Carabulea repeatedly called on the central bank to find an investor for Carpatica Bank.