Belgrade, August 09, 2017 – Telenor Banka has reached an agreement with River Styxx Capital on a strategic partnership. Under the agreement, River Styxx Capital will acquire 85% of shares in Telenor Banka, while Telenor maintains 15% ownership.
“We are proud that Telenor Banka has been the frontrunner for digitalisation of Serbia’s banking industry over the past three years. The strategic partnership with River Styxx Capital is the next step on the bank’s growth curve. It will bring us new opportunities to expand Telenor Banka’s business and create additional benefits to our customers and the whole market,” says Ingeborg Øfsthus, CEO of Telenor Serbia and Chair of the Telenor Banka Board of Directors.
By investing into this partnership, River Styxx Capital enters the Serbian market and shares the vision of providing accessible and convenient financial services in the whole region of South East Europe.
“The investment in Telenor Banka and the establishment of a commercial and equity partnership with Telenor is an unparalleled opportunity to enter the Serbian market, a market that continues to offer attractive growth prospects. By combining River Styxx Capital's consumer and other financing expertise with Telenor's customer service and distribution competence and Telenor Banka's unique profile as a regional financial technology innovation leader, we are confident of ensuring the future development and success of the bank. The bank shall continue to invest significant efforts and resources in maintaining its leadership as the only internet-based, mobile-first bank in Southeast Europe. Our close cooperation with Telenor will best serve the interests of the bank's current and prospective customers, and create value for all of its stakeholders,” says Elvin Guri, CEO of River Styxx Capital.
“With more than 300,000 customers and growing, we have changed the way people do banking in Serbia. Strategic partnership with River Styxx Capital will support funding and further growth of our business. In the future, we will be focused on building new innovative services and growing our customer base,” says Miloš Brusin, President of the Executive Board of Telenor Banka.
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals in Serbia.