White & Case Advises on $634 Million Disposal of Stake in Kazakh Bank

Foreign Investors Drawn to Kazakh Banking Sector

London / Almaty March 18, 2008 ... Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised a number of shareholders of JSC Bank CenterCredit ("BCC") in relation to the proposed sale of a strategic stake in BCC to Kookmin Bank, Korea's largest financial institution. The initial investment made by Kookmin Bank will be approximately $634 million, subject to completion of the transaction upon receipt of the necessary regulatory authorisations and consents.

Upon completion of the initial investment, Kookmin Bank will become the second largest shareholder in BCC. The selling shareholders also agreed to deposit approximately $240 million of the sale proceeds with BCC to foster the bank's liquidity. In addition, subsequent to the initial investment, Kookmin Bank will obtain a controlling position of 50.1 percent or more of BCC's outstanding shares through the purchase of additional shares, further capital injections / rights offerings, or any combination of such options.

This is the second strategic disposal of a Kazakh bank to a major foreign player in the last 12 months, the first being the $2.175 billion acquisition of JSC ATF Bank, Kazakhstan's third largest bank, by the Italian financial services group UniCredit last year, which White & Case also advised on.

"We are seeing increasing levels of foreign investment in the Kazakh banking sector, largely due to the government's relaxation of requirements on foreign capital, and given that the Kazakh banking system is recognised as the best regulated and most transparent in the CIS, it's easy to see why. Partnering with a foreign bank also brings many benefits for the domestic banks, enabling them to secure funding and strengthen their balance sheets. As a result, the number of strategic partnerships between foreign and domestic banks, like the one between Bank CenterCredit and Kookmin Bank, is only going to increase," commented White & Case partner Yuriy Maltsev.

The White & Case team was led by partner Ashley Ballard assisted by associates Charlie Chipchase and Brendon Mahood and trainee solicitor Kimberly Skipsey, in London, and partner Yuriy Maltsev and associate Tatiana Gorbenko, in Almaty. London-based partners Claire Denison and Jason Yardley advised on financing related aspects. Morgan Stanley acted as sole financial adviser to BCC's selling shareholders.

White & Case has a wealth of additional M&A experience in the banking sector having acted on a number of other deals including: advising Sabanci Holding and Akbank, Turkey's largest private bank, in the sale of a 20 percent equity stake to Citigroup for approximately $3.1 billion; advising Dexia, a key player in Belgian retail banking, in its acquisition of 75 per cent of Turkish bank Denizbank, for a purchase price of $2.4 billion; and advising Danske Bank A/S in its €4.05 billion acquisition of Finnish bank Sampo Bank plc, a subsidiary of Sampo plc, the Finnish financial services group.

About White & Case
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