UAE companies offer to buy Russian UniCredit business
Three companies based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have approached the Italian Finance Ministry with a proposal to buy the Russian business of the Italian banking group UniCredit, Reuters news agency reports, citing a document seen by the agency.
The agency says that the little-known Dubai investment companies Asas Capital and Mada Capital have produced a plan to set up a special purpose vehicle and team up with Inweasta, which already operates in Russia, to purchase the Russian UniCredit Bank.
Unspecified Italian partners would also take part in the deal, with the task of securing approvals from the European Central Bank, Italy, and European Union and U.S. regulators. Additionally, the UniCredit Bank sale cannot go ahead without the approval of the Russian sub-commission of the Government Commission on Foreign Investments.
"All parties involved in the transaction are not subject to sanctions and are in full compliance with the applicable sanctions regime," Reuters quotes the document as saying.
According to Reuters, Inweasta will be responsible for obtaining Russian regulatory approvals for the deal. The UAE consortium is proposing to buy the Russian UniCredit business with a discount of 60% to market value, which is in line with the rules set by the Russian sub-commission. UniCredit Bank's assets, according to its Russian financial statements, amounted to RUB 837 billion as of 1 April 2025.
Inweasta (founded by former A1 managing partner Andrey Elinson) acquired the Russian insurance business of the Czech PPF Group in 2024.
The deal to buy UniCredit Bank could be planned for the benefit of Alfa Group Consortium, of which A1 forms part, Kommersant newspaper reported, citing three sources, although Alfa-Bank (Alfa Group's principal banking asset) stated it was unaware of any such plans.