UniCredit: Profumo looks to exploit his empire
UniCredit’s most recent deals were in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In July 2007, it agreed to buy 95% of Ukraine’s Ukrsotsbank from Interpipe Group for $2.2 billion. Also last year, UniCredit bought a majority shareholding in Kazakhstan’s ATF Bank for $2.3 billion. Although both deals made sense – they provide the Italian firm with a foothold in the nascent banking markets in the region – analysts believe they came at a price.
"We believe the acquisition was expensive," was the...