"It is probably logical to first approach PPF." PPF, founded by the late Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, holds close to 30% of MONETA, while another Czech investment group J&T holds around 10%, leaving the country's sixth biggest lender in the hands of three main shareholders. Tykac said J&T has not signalled a willingness to sell shares, and he said it would be good for the main shareholders to reach some common ground on the bank for its outlook and strategy. PPF did not comment on its MONETA plans when contacted by Reuters. It said its termination agreement following the end of its deal with MONETA from May 2022 requires that it maintain its ownership stake for 12 months. PPF and MONETA walked away from their $1.1 billion deal to combine Czech banking assets last year, terminating a proposal that would have created a major competitor to foreign-owned banks in the Czech market. MONETA reported a full-year 2022 profit of 5.2 billion crowns ($235.7 million), boosted by higher interest rates and better-than-expected risk costs. However, it has forecast net profit to fall to 4.3 billion crowns in 2023 and to grow little in the following two years due to a state windfall tax imposed on the country's biggest banks. Shares in MONETA traded 0.5% higher on Tuesday at 84.40 crowns, and are down nearly 10% in the past year. ($1 = 22.0620 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Jason Hovet and Robert Muller; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
(Adds PPF comment)
PRAGUE, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Investor Pavel Tykac said on
Tuesday he could approach MONETA Money Bank's biggest
shareholder PPF to acquire some of its shares in order to boost
his stake in the Czech lender to around a fifth.
Tykac is MONETA's second biggest shareholder, holding 10.39%
through his Manecomte Limited investment vehicle. He flagged his
intent last year to raise his stake after MONETA's planned deal
to merge with PPF assets fell apart.
"We would like to increase our stake to somewhere around
20%," Tykac told Czech Radio in an interview on Tuesday.
"So we will see if we get something from PPF, or if we go to
the market," he said when asked on the possibility of acquiring
shares from existing shareholders.
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