Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI; LSE:80OA) is considering acquiring the Turkish operations of Millennium Banco Commercial Portuguese (Euronext: BCP). Bank Hapoalim may merge Millennium AS with BankPozitif Credi Ve Kalkinma Bankasi AS, in order to enable BankPozitif to accept deposits from the public, which it currently cannot do because it lacks a permit from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency of Turkey.
A knowledgeable source emphasized that Bank Hapoalim was only considering the matter, and that it had other alternatives to BankPozitif's deposit permit problem. Bank Hapoalim has been waiting for this permit since acquiring 65% of BankPozitif in 2006.
Bank Hapoalim's board has not yet discussed an acquisition of Millennium AS, which specializes in pension advice. The global crisis has resulted in a sharp fall in prices for banks in emerging markets, resulting in very low capital multiples.
In addition to Portugal, Millennium Banco Commercial Portuguese operates in Poland, Romania, Canada, and Macao. It recently announced that it would refocus on its core businesses and would sell its Turkish operations, which it launched in 2003. Millennium AS has sixteen retail and small business branches, twelve of which are in Istanbul and three in Ankara.
BankPozitif posted a profit of $18 million in January-September 2008, 6% more than in the corresponding period of 2007. The shekel's appreciation resulted in causing Bank Hapoalim a NIS 52 million loss. To date, Bank Hapoalim has invested NIS 964 million in BankPozitif, which also owns Kazakh bank, DKB.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 27, 2009
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