Baker & McKenzie announced today that it advised Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka, a.s. (CSOB) on the transfer to the Czech Consolidation Agency (CKA) of shares in foreign fund structures established by the former Investicni a Postovni banka, a.s. (IPB) for a purchase price exceeding €1.6 billion. CSOB acquired the assets and liabilities of IPB in June 2000 and is the largest bank operating in the Czech Republic.
In addition, agreements amounting to over 60,000 pages of text were executed on 31 July 2003 between CSOB, the Czech state (represented by the Minister of Finance), CKA and 19 foreign legal entities, allowing for the transfer to CKA of securities, receivables and cash worth approximately € 550 million, previously in the possession of, or managed by, foreign funds and other related entities.
Commenting on the deal, Jan Lucan, General Counsel of CSOB said: “The successful completion of this transaction has been a positive step towards the final conclusion of the IPB restructuring process. Baker & McKenzie’s involvement in this transaction has been crucial towards assisting us in achieving this goal.”
The Baker & McKenzie team was led by Partner, Alexandr Cesar, with assistance from Senior Associate Tomas Skoumal and Libor Basl.
Lead Partner, Alexandr Cesar, commented: “We are delighted to have been involved in a transaction of this scale and importance to the Czech banking industry. This historic transaction represents the last major stage in the post-acquisition restructuring of the business of the former IPB.”
Baker & McKenzie has represented CSOB since its privatization in 1999, including advising on all aspects of the IPB acquisition. Baker & McKenzie also advised KBC Bank N.V. (Belgium) in connection with the privatization of CSOB
