The London Court has seized Goldman Sachs' 3.9% stake in Bank of Moscow, preventing a bid by Russia's second largest bank VTB to gain control of the Moscow government's lender, Vedomosti business daily reported on Thursday.
In mid-February, the VTB supervisory board approved a gradual acquisition of 100% of shares in Bank of Moscow. On February 22 the state-controlled lender started its takeover bid, with a purchase of a 46.48% stake held by the Moscow government and a blocking interest in Stolichnaya Insurance Group, which owned 17.3% of the Moscow bank, the paper said.
Bank of Moscow President Andrei Borodin was unwilling to cede control of the bank but VTB found a way around his objections. Two sources close to Bank of Moscow shareholders told the paper that the sale of the Moscow government's stake relieved Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, holding 3.88% and 2.77% respectively, of the need to obtain permission from Borodin sell their shareholdings.
Goldman Sachs' share would have increased VTB's stake in Bank of Moscow to a controlling interest and the investment bank agreed to sell it for 7.1 billion rubles ($247 million). However, a structure close to Borodin filed a complaint with the London court, following which Goldman Sachs' stake was seized.
Shareholder agreements imposed certain restrictions on Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse on the resale of their stakes in Bank of Moscow, two financiers familiar with the documents told the paper.
In particular, Goldman Sachs had an obligation initially to offer its shares to Bank of Moscow, if the investment bank decided to sell them, the paper said.
"The bank deemed its rights infringed and then some minority shareholders or managers initiated the seizure of the share package," the paper quoted one of the financers as saying.
MOSCOW, March 3 (RIA Novosti)
