The megamerger of Internet banks first-e
and Uno-e, announced Monday, will create
a global banking group in a deal worth $2.3 billion.
Named unofirst, the new group will operate in Europe, Latin America, the
United
States and Asia. Initially, it will bring together first-e’s U.K.
operations,
now being extended to Germany in a pilot scheme, with those of Uno-e in
Spain.
The new group plans a rapid expansion of its financial services to other
countries, using a war-chest of nearly half a billion dollars in cash.
Uno-e is owned jointly by the second largest Euro-zone bank Banco Bilbao
Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and Telefonica subsidiary
Terra Networks.
first-e is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
enba plc, a Dublin-based holding
company headed by an Austrian, Dr. Gerhard Huber. enba’s shareholders
include Apax Partners, Aureus, Capital Z, CGU, Intel, Invision, Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter, PaineWebber Capital Inc. and Vertex.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, BBVA and Terra will pay 291 million
euros ($279 million) to enba shareholders while also putting in 362 million
euros ($347 million) in cash to bolster the capital of the new company.
The deal will give BBVA and Terra Networks 67.5 per cent of unofirst,
with shareholders of enba getting 32.5 per cent.
Dr. Gerhard Huber, who becomes chief executive officer of unofirst
group, said the new company would seek an IPO “in due course.”
“Such a move will be subject to our own business criteria and meeting
necessary regulatory approvals,” added Huber.
Manuel Galatas, executive chairman of unofirst group, hailed the
creation of the new company as a significant move in e-commerce financial
services.
“We will be able to use the Internet and new channels to create the
world’s first truly global online operation, offering a range of
competitive products and services unparalleled in the traditional
terrestrial business model,” said Galatas.
In the U.K., first-e has a portfolio of 110,000 registered users
of whom 50,000 are customers. It has previously announced plans for
services that include low-cost brokerage, IPO dealing services and
comparative shopping for financial products.
