THE ANTIMONOPOLY Office has started administrative proceedings concerning the takeover of Banka Slovakia by Austrian Meinl Bank Aktiengesellschaft.
Meinl Bank signed a contract to buy 60 percent of Banka Slovakia in early May for a preliminary price of Sk360 million (€8.7 million). It was supposed to pay the first 30 percent of the price on the day of signing the purchase contract, while the remaining portion should be deposited in a special account before the transaction's closing date.
The definitive price of the stake will be set on the basis of an audit of the bank's results as of December 31, 2002. Banka Slovakia is expectng to close this year with a profit of Sk11 million (€265,000).