The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has reduced its equity stake in TBC Bank, Georgia’s largest bank, by selling 1.65 million shares in an accelerated bookbuild placed on the London Stock Exchange.

The shares sold by the EBRD on 4 December 2020 represent 3 per cent of TBC Bank’s total shares.

The EBRD retains a 5 per cent stake in Georgia’s largest lender. The EBRD is confident in the bank’s strong performance and bright prospects, remaining fully supportive of its strategic development and its plans for domestic and cross-border expansion.

The EBRD acquired shares in TBC Bank in 2009 as part of a larger funding package to strengthen the bank’s capital base and support the expansion of its activities. In 2012, together with other international financial institutions as shareholders, the EBRD participated in a rights issue by TBC Bank. Subsequently, the lender was successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2014.

Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director, Financial Institutions said: “TBC is a success story and the EBRD has been, and intends to continue to be, a close partner and shareholder for more than a decade. The bank’s strong progress allows us to reduce our shareholding and harvest some of the fruit of our patient investment strategy. Naturally, we continue to be actively involved in the bank’s future development.”

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Georgia. Since the start of its operations in the country, the Bank has invested over €4.1 billion in 258 projects in the financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with 79 per cent of these investments in the private sector.