Slovenia’s largest bank, Nova Ljubljanska banka (NLBR) announced on May 13 that it had published a prospectus for a voluntary public takeover bid aimed at acquiring a controlling stake in Austria’s Addiko Bank, formally opening the acceptance period for shareholders.

Addiko Bank, headquartered in Vienna, operates across five markets in Central and Southeastern Europe — Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro — with a focus on consumer and SME lending. The proposed acquisition would strengthen NLB’s regional footprint and expand its presence beyond the western Balkans.

Ljubljana-based lender NLB is offering €29 per share in cash for up to 19.5mn ordinary no-par value bearer shares, representing 100% of Addiko’s issued share capital. The acceptance period for the offer runs from May 13 to July 22, the bank said in a bourse filing.

NLB said the minimum threshold for the bid to be successful is the acquisition of at least 75% of total voting rights, equivalent to 14,465,357 Addiko shares.

If all conditions attached to the offer are fulfilled, an additional acceptance period will run from July 27, 2026 until October 27, 2026.

The transaction remains subject to several conditions, including obtaining all required approvals from competition authorities and banking regulators, including the completion of the qualifying holder suitability assessment procedure before the European Central Bank.

NLB said the deadline for fulfilling all conditions attached to the takeover bid is May 31, 2027.

Raiffeisen Bank International is also seeking to acquire Addiko Bank, offering €26.50 per share, although its bid has yet to receive approval from the Takeover Commission, the bank said in a statement emailed to IntelliNews.