VTB may buy 10 pct of Home Credit BV

Russia's second largest lender VTB may acquire up to a 10 percent stake in Home Credit BV, which owns banks in Belarus, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Russia and Slovakia, Vedomosti business daily reported on Tuesday. The paper quoted a VTB source saying the aim of the deal was to raise funds in an upcoming Initial Public Offering for Home Credit BV scheduled for this fall. The deal is being prepared by VTB's investment vehicle VTB Capital. Media reports have said Home Credit BV planned to float up to 25 percent to raise about $1 billion. VTB top management has held talks with Peter Kellner, a core shareholder in Home Credit's parent group PPF, Vedomosti quoted a source close to the negotiations as saying. VTB, VTB Capital, PPF and HCFB declined to comment. Home Credit and Finance Bank (HCFB) accounts for about 75 percent of the group's business. HCFB is the sixth largest lender on the Russian credit card market with a 4.6 percent share and the leader in point of sales credit with a share of 27.3 percent. Russia's top bank Sberbank, which intends to expand its retail business, had held talks to buy HCFB's Russian business but the banks failed to agree a price and Sberbank purchased Austria's Volksbank instead.