Vienna boosts stake in the Budapest Stock Exchange

Wiener Börse, the operator of the Vienna Stock Exchange, plans to acquire an additional 25.5% stake in the Budapest Stock Exchange from UniCredit Bank Hungary.
By None

Wiener Börse, the operator of the Vienna Stock Exchange, plans to acquire an additional 25.5% stake in the Budapest Stock Exchange from UniCredit Bank Hungary. This will take Wiener Börse’s stake in the exchange to 37.7%.

Wiener Börse is part of an Austrian consortium that owns a stake in the Budapest Stock Exchange. This latest move will take the consortium’s total ownership of the exchange to 68.82%. Other members of the consortium are Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (12.5%); Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich (6.4%); Erste Group Bank (6.37%); and Erste Befektesi (5.85%).

“We believe in the Hungarian capital market and the acquisition of this stake is an expression of our commitment,” said Michael Buhl, CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange and member of the board of directors of the Budapest Stock Exchange, in a statement. “In addition, the more simplified structure of the decision makers within the Budapest Stock Exchange will make it possible to implement future activities more swiftly.”

One of the future activities is to promote the internationalisation of the Budapest Stock Exchange. “We believe that collaboration is very important and are already engaged in talks with some market participants,” said Buhl.

As of the end of May, there were 43 companies listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange and market capitalisation was €28.45 billion.

«