ICICI Bank to sell its Russian subsidiary to Sovcombank

ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector lender, on Friday said it has decided to sell its profit-making Russian subsidiary ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company (IBEL) to Sovcombank.

With the selling of its stake, ICICI Bank would exit from Russia and will be left with operation in 18 countries, including India. The private lender will cater to Russian clients through its subsidiaries in other countries.

"... The board of the bank at its meeting held today (Dec 5) approved a proposal for the sale of ICICI Bank's shareholding in ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company (IBEL), a non-material wholly-owned banking subsidiary in Russia, to Sovcombank, an unrelated third party Russian bank," it said in a statement.

At September 30, 2014, IBEL had total assets of 4.5 billion rouble and paid-up equity capital of 1.6 billion rouble.

The profit after tax of ICICI's Russian subsidiary, in the six-month period ended September 30, 2014 was 28 million rouble.

IBEL accounted for less than 0.1 per cent of ICICI Bank's consolidated total assets at that date and consolidated profit after tax for the period.

The deal is subject to execution of definitive agreements and regulatory approvals, the bank said.

"The purchase price will be determined on the transaction completion date based on the financial statements of IBEL at that date. The transaction is expected to conclude by the end of the financial year," ICICI Bank said.

The private sector lender acquired the entire paid-up capital of Investisionno-Kreditny Bank LLC (IKB LLC), which was renamed ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC in 2005.

ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC is among the 150 largest Russian banks as per the Interfax data of 2008.

Presently, ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC is offering a wide range of corporate and investments finance products, as well as services for retail customers.

Shares of the ICICI Bank closed at Rs 359.45 a piece, down 2.4 points (or 0.66 per cent) on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).