Schoenherr assisted Piraeus Bank in connection with the sale of its stake in a EUR 400 million NPL portfolio to APS
The portfolio, which refers to claims with a nominal value of 400 million euros, consists of approximately 2,000 consumer loans and secured by real estate mortgages. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) financed a 30% share of the participation, the rest being financed by APS from its own funds and managed accounts.
"We are glad to have assisted Piraeus Bank in connection with the sale of its stake in this portfolio of non-performing loans in Romania," said partner Matei Florea, coordinator of the Schoenherr team involved in this project. "For over a decade, Schoenherr has provided legal assistance in relation to some of the largest transactions involving non-performing loan portfolios in Romania, thus contributing to supporting the functioning of the Romanian banking system."
The Schoenherr and SCA Associates team that assisted Piraeus Bank in this project was coordinated by Matei Florea (partner) and included Valeria Stropșa (senior attorney at law) and Silviu Lazăr (senior attorney at law). The competition law and foreign direct investment authorization aspects were managed by the firm's competition, EU and foreign trade team, coordinated by Georgiana Bădescu (partner).
Established in 1916, Piraeus Bank is today the largest bank in Greece in terms of customer loans and deposits. The group exited the Romanian market in 2018, with the sale of its local banking operations to the American investment fund JC Flowers, a transaction in which Piraeus was assisted by Schoenherr Romania, as a legal consultant.
APS is one of the leading investors and administrators of non-performing loans, active in 15 countries. Currently, APS manages over 100 non-performing loan portfolios with a total nominal value of over 11 billion euros.
EBRD is one of the main institutional investors in Romania. To date, the bank has invested more than 10.9 billion euros in 525 projects in the country, focusing on the continued development of the financial sector and capital markets, financing infrastructure and boosting private sector productivity.
