Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Tbilisi. July 29 (Interfax) - PrivatBank (Dnipropetrovsk), Ukraine's biggest bank, has boosted its stake in Georgian Taoprivatbank (formerly Taobank) to 98.78% from 75% previously, Taoprivatbank spokesman Nino Yevgenidze told Interfax.

PrivatBank purchased a 23.78% stake from Swiss Zurisin AG, she said. "Under the terms of the deal, the Ukrainian bank invested 30 million lari in the capital of Taoprivatbank, boosting its Tier I capital by 10 million lari and Tier II capital by 20 million lari," Yevgenidze said.

The procedures for increasing the bank's capital should be completed in the coming three weeks, she said.

The only other shareholders in Taoprivatbank are Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia LLC (1.03%) and PAB-4 (0.19%).

Taoprivatbank's assets totaling 181.2 million lari on July 1, 2009, including 21.3 million lari in charter capital.

PrivatBank said previously it planned to acquire the blocking stake held by other shareholders by August.

PrivatBank invested about $50 million in the Georgian bank in 2008.

PrivatBank was the 18th biggest CIS bank by assets and the biggest Ukrainian bank, according to the Interfax-1000: CIS Banks rankings as of the end of 2008. Taoprivatbank was the 490th biggest CIS bank and the 9th biggest Georgian bank.