Swedbank acquires corporate finance business in Russia

Swedbank has signed an agreement today regarding the acquisition of ZAO OKO Capital Vostok, a Russian company active in corporate finance from Finnish OKO Bank. The company is active in investment banking with a main focus on financial advice to Nordic and Russian companies in relation to acquisitions and divestures of companies and businesses in Russia. The company has seven employees.

“This acquisition is an excellent next step in the establishment of our corporate finance business in the bank’s markets. Today we have local offices in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and will now also cover Moscow and Saint Petersburg in Russia. We have already had very good results from our combination of local presence and wide geographic reach in our cross border transactions and this acquisition strengthen us even further”, says Magnus Geeber, Head of Swedbank Corporate Finance.

Swedbank has also agreed with OKO Corporate Finance Ltd, an OKO Bank Group subsidiary, on cooperation in corporate finance operations in Russia, the Baltic countries and the Nordic countries.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be closed during the first quarter of 2008.


For further information:
Magnus Geeber, Head of Project & Corporate Finance, Swedbank, phone: +46 70 266 82 71
Anna Sundblad, Press Manager, Swedbank, phone: +46 70 321 39 95