REG - Nova Ljubljanska - NLB: completion of the acq. of Summit Leasing

Nova Ljubljanska Banka dd LjubljanaAnnouncement

11/09/2024 12:15

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240911:nRSK8006Da&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 8006D  Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d.  11 September 2024

September 11, 2024

 

NLB Group Strengthens its Position in its Home Region and Enters Croatian
Market with Leasing Services

 

Pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of the Stock Exchange, Article 17 of
the Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014, and Article 130 of the Market in Financial
Instruments Act (ZTFI-1), Nova Ljubljanska banka, d.d., Ljubljana with
registered office: Trg republike 2, 1000 Ljubljana, hereby publishes the
following notice:

 

With today's completion of the acquisition of Summit Leasing, NLB Group marks
another milestone in the development of the Group and the services and
solutions it offers to its clients in the markets of its home region,
South-Eastern Europe.

 

After receiving all regulatory approvals in the beginning of August
(https://www.nlb.si/press-release-8-8-2024) , NLB today successfully completed
the transaction and became the sole shareholder of SLS HOLDCO, holdinška
družba, d.o.o., the parent company of Summit Leasing Slovenija d.o.o., and
its subsidiaries, including Croatian Mobil Leasing d.o.o. NLB will thus become
the leading provider of leasing services on Slovenian market. Furthermore,
after almost three decades, it will also once again enter the market of one of
Slovenia's most important business partners - Croatia.

 

"The closing of the transaction is yet another step in NLB Group's
transformation to one of regional champions. It is rendered even more
important as with it NLB once again, after almost 30 years, enters the
Croatian market, thus becoming the only financial institution from the region
that offers at least one form of financing on all the markets of former common
country, which remain among the most important trade and business partners
until this day," emphasized NLB's CEO Blaž Brodnjak. "We are extremely proud
of having achieved this and even more motivated to further develop leasing
services in our neighboring Croatia to the benefit of our clients.
Furthermore, we are looking forward to working with many Summit Leasing
talents, to whom we are extending a warm welcome in the NLB Group," he added.

 

Michele Rabà, Apollo Partner, said: "Following seven successful years of
Summit Leasing ownership, we are all very proud of what we have achieved
together, and I wish to sincerely thank all of Summit Leasing's incredible
management and employees for their hard work and support. Under our ownership,
Summit Leasing has more than tripled in size and met or exceeded all its
strategic targets. We wish Summit Leasing and NLB Group best of luck in this
new, exciting journey."

 

Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director, Financial Institutions, commented:
"Summit Leasing has grown into a market leader over the years, thanks to the
dedication and hard work of its management and employees. The EBRD is proud to
have supported this remarkable journey and is excited about the future
possibilities this new chapter will unlock. I am confident that under NLB's
ownership, Summit Leasing will continue to thrive and contribute to growth in
the region. This is an important step toward realising the full potential of
the business and its continued success."

 

After closing of the transaction, two new members will be appointed and added
to the Summit Leasing Management Board, namely Marko Jerič and Claus Peter
Müller, experienced managers, coming from the NLB Group.

 

Leasing gains prominence as one of strategic activities of the NLB Group

 

Leasing services address clients' needs well, which is why NLB Group decided
to gradually expand this activity. After first entering the Slovenian market
with NLB Lease&Go in the spring of 2020, new leasing companies were in
2022 established in North Macedonia and Serbia. Making another important step,
NLB Group now also enters the Croatian leasing market.

 

Leasing services offered by the NLB Group members complement the bank's
lending services and enable retail and corporate clients to choose the option
that best addresses their needs, situation, and preference. The vison of the
Group is for leasing to become a significant part of the Group. It was
organically planned that in its mature phase, it would contribute more than
EUR 1 billion to the total assets of the Group, yet with the Summit Leasing
acquisition this ambition has been significantly accelerated.

 

No change in clients' regular business operations

 

NLB Lease&Go, Summit Leasing and its subsidiary in Croatia Mobil Leasing
will continue working as separate companies until the merger of NLB
Lease&Go and Summit Leasing, which is expected in the second quarter of
2025. The Mobil Leasing will remain as a separate company, operating in
Croatian market. There will therefore be no changes to clients' regular
business operations.

 

NLB will be focused on managing the integration processes of NLB Lease&Go
and Summit Leasing as seamlessly as possible, to ensure a smooth transition
and retain operational efficiency, keeping our focus on NLB Lease&Go and
Summit Leasing's clients and their needs, employees, dealer network and all
other stakeholders.

 

Investor Relations

NLB d.d., Ljubljana

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  ACQUASRRSNUKAAR