Arab Bank Plc and Piraeus Bank S.A. announce that they have reached an agreement for the sale of Arab Bank's branch network and banking operations in Cyprus to Piraeus Bank's local banking subsidiary. The agreement is subject to appropriate regulatory approvals.
By selling its branches in Cyprus, Arab Bank would have completed the reorganization of its European operations under its wholly owned subsidiary, "Europe Arab Bank", into which all Arab Bank Plc's businesses in Europe were transferred.
The purchase price was agreed at 15 million Euros and also includes 12 months of IT support for the acquired business, to be provided by current provider Arabella plc, an Arab Bank UK subsidiary.
Arab Bank's branch network in Cyprus comprise four branches, a wholly owned 4,600 sq m Head Office building in Nicosia, 105 staff, CYP74million (EUR 126 million) in loans and CYP144million (EUR 246 million) in deposits.
The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2008.