Belgian bank KBC announced its acquisition of the Slovak bank 365.bank for €761 million. The group aims to bolster its presence in Slovakia.
The bank will acquire a 98.45% stake from J&T Finance Group, valuing 365.bank at a total of €761 million. The deal is subject to regulatory and competition authority approval and is expected to be finalised by the end of the year.
KBC already operates in Slovakia through ČSOB. It aims to strengthen its market leadership with this new acquisition.
The news coincided with KBC Group's quarterly results, showing a net profit of €546 million for the first three months of the year, up from €506 million the previous year. However, this was below analysts' expectations of €590 million, according to financial news agency Bloomberg.
In Belgium, profits amounted to €281 million, also lower than analysts had predicted.
KBC's net interest income rose by 4% year-on-year, reaching €1.421 billion.
CEO Johan Thijs confirmed the bank's financial outlook remains stable for both the short and long term.
