Fund linked to Orban ally acquires stake in Hungary's FHB Bank

MBH Jelzalogbank Nyrt

21/04/2017 15:52

BUDAPEST, April 21 (Reuters) - A unit of Hungarian holding 
company Konzum  KONU.BU , partly-owned by Lorinc Meszaros, an 
ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has acquired a 5.9 percent 
stake in local bank FHB  FHBK.BU , the companies said on Friday. 
    The deal, part of a broader shake-up of the local banking 
and savings and loans sector, follows the resignation of FHB 
chairman Zoltan Speder last October and the sale of his 14 
percent stake, after an investigation by the Hungarian 
authorities into his business interests.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1CK4RY 
    FHB shares were up 8 percent at 574 forints by 1448 GMT. 
Shares in Konzum were up 10 percent 150 forints, their price 
having more than doubled over the past two months. 
    KZF Vagyonkezelo, an asset management company owned by a 
Konzum investment fund, bought the 6.46 million FHB shares from 
the Hungarian arm of German insurer Allianz SE  ALVG.DE  in a 
transaction settled on Wednesday, the companies said in stock 
exchange filings. 
    In March Meszaros, who owns a 19.6 percent stake in Konzum, 
acquired stakes in another listed company, Opimus  OPIM.BU , 
which owns the publisher of several Hungarian newspapers. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1GG3I7 
 
 (Reporting by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Greg Mahlich) 
 ((gergely.szakacs@tr.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/szakacsg 
 ; +36 1 327 4748; Reuters Messaging: 
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Keywords: KONZUM FHB JELZALOGBANK/