RBI: Update on RBI’s acquisition of 28,500,000 shares of STRABAG SE

On 19 December 2023, Raiffeisen Bank International AG (“RBI”) announced its decision to acquire 28,500,000 shares of STRABAG SE via RBI’s Russian subsidiary AO Raiffeisenbank, subject to regulatory approvals, merger clearance, and the satisfactory completion of sanctions compliance due diligence. 

RBI diligently verified the compliance of the announced acquisition with all applicable sanctions requirements prior to signing and announcing the transaction. Since then, all relevant authorities have been briefed in detail, and on a technical level all outstanding questions are being addressed. RBI stands by its initial assessment that the transaction fully complies with all applicable sanctions requirements. 

In recent days, MKAO “Rasperia Trading Limited” (“Rasperia”), which owns the 28,500,000 STRABAG SE shares that RBI intends to acquire, has been sold to Iliadis JSC, an unsanctioned investor. While this recent transaction is unrelated to RBI’s announced acquisition of the STRABAG SE shares, it requires extensive compliance verifications. Subject to these verifications, Rasperia’s new ownership structure should provide RBI comfort that no sanctioned individuals or entities will benefit directly or indirectly
from RBI’s announced acquisition of the STRABAG SE shares, nor from any related payments for these shares.