Clifford Chance Badea has advised private investment fund JC Flowers & Co on its sale of Romania's First Bank to Intesa Sanpaolo. RTPR advised the Intesa Sanpaolo Bank.
The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval by the National Bank of Romania, the European Central Bank, and Romania's Competition Council.
According to Clifford Chance, the transaction marks the exit of the American investment fund from Romania, six years after its first acquisition. "At that time, the takeover of Piraeus Bank marked a first for the local banking industry – the first investment fund to become a shareholder in a Romanian bank, with the approval of the National Bank of Romania. Later, in 2019, First Bank, owned by JC Flowers & Co, took over Leumi Bank Romania."
First Bank provides a diversified range of financial products and services to retail, SME, and large corporate customers.
The Clifford Chance team included Managing Partner Daniel Badea, Counsel Loredana Ralea, Of Counsel Eleonora Udroiu, Senior Associate Radu Costin, and Associate Maria Moga, as well as Prague-based Partner Alex Cook.
The RTPR team was led by Managing Partner Costin Taracila and Partner Alina Stavaru and included Partner Roxana Ionescu, Counsels Ianita Tui, Cristina Enaga, and Alexandru Stanoiu, Managing Associate Andrei Tosa, Senior Associates Diana Dimitriu and Ana Popa, Associates Serban Halmagean and Serban Nitulescu, and Junior Associates Mihai Mutulescu, Miruna Tocileanu, and Irina Marinescu.