Barclays buys Russian bank as part of expansion plan
03-03-2008
Barclays has agreed to buy Russian bank Expobank for £373 million in a bid to expand into emerging markets.
Britain's third-biggest bank said it is buying Expobank from Petropavlovsk Finance.
According to Barclays, Expobank focuses on western Russia, with a presence in Moscow and St Petersburg. The retail and commercial bank had net assets of £93 million as of December 31st 2007.
Frits Seegers, chief executive of global retail and commercial banking at Barclays, said: "[Expobank's] existing relationships and infrastructure create the ideal platform for us to become one of the leading retail and commercial banks in Russia, one of the world's fastest growing economies and a market we have been keen to enter for some time."
The UK-based bank said it expects to generate profit by 2011, will be earnings accretive and will achieve a return on investment significantly above the cost of equity.
The transaction is expected to close in the summer 2008 after regulatory approval.
Barclays shares closed at 477.25 pence on Friday, valuing the business at about £31 billion.
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