By Margit Feher
BUDAPEST--A Hungarian state-owned bank has paid $700 million for
a 100% stake in Budapest Bank Zrt., the local unit of General
Electric Co.'s (GE) lending division, the prime minister's office
said on Monday via state news agency MTI.
The buyer is investment firm Corvinus Nemzetkozi Befektetesi
Zrt., part of state-owned investment bank MFB Zrt. and the
acquisition follows a preliminary agreement signed last
December.
The transaction took place at an exchange rate of 279.64
Hungarian forints to a dollar. The dollar-forint rate was at around
282.40 on Monday afternoon.
The purchase price, which MFB has financed through debt funded
from capital markets, won't increase Hungary's public debt, the
prime minister's office said.
Budapest Bank was put up for sale after GE Capital decided to
divest its financial services segment globally. Hungary's
government predicts the bank's consolidated net profit will exceed
10 billion forints ($35.7 million) in the first six months of this
year.
The new owner doesn't plan any big changes to the bank's
operation, business policy and operative management, the prime
minister's office said.
Write to Margit Feher at margit.feher@wsj.com; Twitter:
@margitfeher