British Indian businessman buys Austrian bank

British Indian businessman and investor Sanjeev Kanoria has acquired the domestic banking unit of Austrian bank Hypo Alpe Adria for around USD 85.5 million.
The nationalised bank agreed to sell Hypo Alpe Adria Bank AG, the unit which operates in the southern Austrian province of Carinthia, to Anadi Financial Holdings, the Klagenfurt-based lender said in a statement.
London-based Kanoria, 49, is the brother of Hemant Kanoria, chairman of Indian group SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited, which had been named by the Austrian media as a potential buyer of the bank.
"New products, additional markets and fostering the core region are the aims of our engagement," Kanoria, who is also a doctor, said in the statement, adding that SREI will provide "financial expertise" to the business.

"The investor is not only the clearly best bidder, but also has first-class experience in international business and convincing connections to leading financial organisations," Hypo Alpe chief executive officer Gottwald Kranebitter added in the statement.
The sale - the first step in the bank's campaign to divest operating units under pressure from the European Commission - is now subject to regulatory approval.
The sale was managed by JPMorgan Chase & Co and TJP Advisory & Management Services, Hypo Alpe said.
The Hypo Group is also in the process of shedding its subsidiaries in south-eastern Europe after it ran into trouble before the global financial crisis because of risky investments.